The People's Map of Global China / Global China Pulse

05/07/2024

|| NEW PROFILE || Despite several rows over human rights, in recent years relations between China and Norway have become more focused on trade. Now, with Beijing’s newfound interest in the Arctic Ocean and its vision for a ‘Polar Silk Road’, the relationship is gaining a new geopolitical dimension, writes Trym Eiterjord.

Norway and China established diplomatic relations in 1954, with economic ties developing after the Cold War. Despite several rows over human rights, in recent years the two countries have become more focused on trade. Now, with Beijing’s newfound interest in the Arctic Ocean and its vision for a ....

18/06/2024

The launch of yuan-denominated crude oil futures in 2018 marked a significant step in the internationalisation of the renminbi, offering an alternative to the US dollar in the global energy trade and underscoring the shift towards a multipolar world, writes Monique Taylor.

The launch of yuan-denominated crude oil futures in 2018 marked a significant step in the renminbi’s internationalisation, offering an alternative to the US dollar in the global energy trade. The historical context of the petrodollar system—established through an agreement between the United Sta...

29/05/2024

|| NEW PROFILE || From the arrival of Chinese indentured workers in the nineteenth century to recent substantial Chinese investments in infrastructure and natural resource industries, the relationship between China and Guyana has undergone dynamic shifts, writes Jared Ward.

From the early interactions of Chinese indentured workers in the mid-nineteenth century to recent substantial Chinese investments in infrastructure and natural resource industries, the Sino-Guyanese relationship has undergone dynamic shifts. The first English-speaking Caribbean nation to recognise C...

18/04/2024

China experts today increasingly describe the current linguistic landscape of the People’s Republic of China as one of ‘Mandarin hegemony’. But what does this term mean, how was it created, and how is it reinforced? A new essay by Gina Anne Tam for our Global China Pulse journal.

China experts today increasingly describe the current linguistic landscape of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as one of ‘Mandarin hegemony’. But what does this term mean, how was it created, and how is it reinforced? The purpose of this essay is to define the concept and explore the prima...

31/01/2024

We are happy to introduce the Global China Lab, a new nonprofit platform for open knowledge on China that brings together our many initiatives, including the Made in China Journal, The People's Map of Global China, Global China Pulse, the book series, and the movies.

Global China Lab is a non-profit organisation established by researchers and practitioners with the aim of advancing knowledge of contemporary China.

21/11/2023

|| NEW PROFILE || In 2018, China’s Zijin Mining Group became the majority owner of the Mining and Smelting Complex Bor, Serbia's largest mining operation. While presented as a solution for the region’s social and economic problems, Zijin’s investment has been marred by accelerated environmental destruction, lack of transparency, problematic relations with political elites, manipulation of Serbia’s legal framework, and state repression of protests in the mining region, write Dušica Ristivojević and Dejan Lazar.

The Bor mining and smelting complex in eastern Serbia is the country’s largest mining operation and one of its top exporters, employing thousands of miners to extract copper and gold. Following the Serbian Government’s efforts to privatise the former industrial giant RTB Bor (Mining and Smelting...

06/10/2023

|| NEW PROFILE || Switzerland has generally had closer ties with the PRC than other Western European countries, with the Chinese government considering the country more pragmatic and less confrontational than other European counterparts, writes Lena Kaufmann.

Switzerland has generally had closer ties with the People’s Republic of China than other Western European countries, with the Chinese Government considering the country more pragmatic and less confrontational than other European counterparts.

26/09/2023

The new issue of 'Global China Pulse' is out! Featuring a century of Chinese medical engagements overseas, a forum on the Belt and Road Initiative at ten, as well as book conversations and a discussion of Global China's 'dark side'. Download it FOR FREE at https://thepeoplesmap.net/globalchinapulse/global-china-pulse-1-2023/

25/09/2023

Besides its most visible manifestations, Global China also has an 'underbelly' composed of Chinese crime syndicates that have branched out overseas. In this new op-ed, Ivan Franceschini and Ling Li discuss the online scam industry in Southeast Asia, possible approaches to researching it, and what insights we can gain from studying it.

For decades, scholars have been examining Chinese engagements overseas, exploring for instance China’s involvement with Third World struggles during the Maoist era, the evolution of its foreign aid approaches, cultural diplomacy, diasporic activities, and later, the expansion of foreign investment...

08/09/2023

|| NEW PROFILE || A country dependent on oil and natural gas exports, Azerbaijan has leveraged BRI projects and the global push for transport infrastructure to diversify its economy and raise its standing in international trade, writes Katherine Schmidt.

Azerbaijan’s importance to global trade is rooted in the country’s ties to the ancient Silk Road, which also renders it a node in the modern-day east–west corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

02/06/2023

The increasing demand for ejiao, a Chinese medicine produced from donkey hides, is affecting the global trade of donkeys and everyone connected to it. In this essay, Wei Ye examines the evolution of ejiao production, highlighting the modern identification, translation, and transformation of donkeys as the key ingredient of this medicine.

The increasing demand for ejiao, a Chinese medicine produced from donkey hides, is affecting the survival of donkeys and the livelihoods of humans worldwide. This essay examines the evolution of ejiao production, with a focus on how its formulation has changed over time. It highlights the modern ide...

25/05/2023

In 'Arise Africa! Roar China!', Yunxiang Gao examines the personal journeys and intellectual and artistic contributions of five major individuals who played an important but often overlooked role in forging Sino–African American relations in the twentieth century. Read more in this conversation with Emily Wilcox.

The past two decades have witnessed an explosive growth in historical scholarship exploring African American connections with China during the twentieth century. In their Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies web resource Teaching China through Black History, Keisha A. Brown, Ruodi Duan, and J...

11/05/2023

Both in the Mao era and after, to the Chinese Communist Party acupuncture was not just a medical procedure but also a symbol of Chineseness—as well as a unique indication of what China could offer the world, writes Emily Baum. A teaser from the upcoming special issue of Global China Pulse on a century of Chinese medical engagements overseas.

Recently, I was speaking with a colleague who had just finished a round of acupuncture when I told him about my research into the practice in Chinese history. ‘I had completely forgotten,’ he responded with an embarrassed laugh, ‘that acupuncture even came from China.’ My colleague’s belat...

02/05/2023

|| NEW PROFILE || The Brazil–Peru Transcontinental Railway is a proposed freight line that would transverse South America, connecting the hinterland of Brazil to the Pacific Ocean on the Peruvian coast, writes Leolino Dourado.

The Brazil–Peru Transcontinental Railway is a planned freight line that will transverse South America, stretching for about 5,000 kilometres to connect the hinterland of Brazil to the Pacific Ocean on the Peruvian coast. Due to the geography of the region and other issues, its implementation is es...

07/03/2023

The second issue of our Global China Pulse journal is out! It includes a range of original essays analysing Chinese engagements around the world, interviews with actors on the ground, and discussions about newly published books. Download FOR FREE at https://thepeoplesmap.net/globalchinapulse/global-china-pulse-2-2022/

22/02/2023

Chinese state-owned enterprise COSCO’s activities in the Greek port of Piraeus have been controversial for years. In this conversation, Konstantinos Tsimonis discusses the case of a successful legal mobilisation with lawyer Anthi Giannoulou and trade unionist Anastasia Frantzeskaki.

Images of the Greek Port of Piraeus on Google Search depict the hardware of logistical capitalism in action, with freighters docked at piers and cranes piling containers and moving cargo. These images often omit, or place far in the background, the densely populated urban districts of the Piraeus Re...

03/02/2023

Over the past two decades, Laos has been on the front lines of a global rise in transnational corporate land investments driven by China’s supposedly growing appetite for foreign land and resources. In this conversation, Mike Dwyer and JulietLu discuss several major assumptions about this land rush and turn them on their head.

Over the past two decades, Laos has been on the front lines of a global rise in transnational corporate land investments. This has been driven by China’s supposedly growing appetite for foreign land and resources, which has featured centrally in coverage of this so-called new global land rush. Mik...

26/01/2023

|| NEW CONTENT || In this new essay, Rui Jie Peng uses ethnographic evidence from a Chinese hydroelectric project in Ecuador to explore how a transnational Chinese company organises boundaries between spaces, bodies, and symbolic differences to relationally produce and maintain the hierarchical organisation of work and life at the construction site.

Building on a critical analysis of spatial politics, this essay uses ethnographic evidence from the Chinese state-sponsored Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) Hydroelectric Project in Ecuador to explore how the transnational Sinohydro organises boundaries between spaces, bodies, and symbolic differences to re...