The Other Side of BRI: China’s Trade Agenda in Asia and the World

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) celebrated its tenth anniversary last year, marking a significant milestone for a project that has attracted international attention and scrutiny. While much discussion about the BRI revolves around China's infrastructure loans in the Global South and its nascent development bank, the AIIB, it is still unclear how the BRI is engaged with China's broader trade strategy. This session will take a deeper look into the trade implications of the BRI and make a broader examination of its impact on global commerce dynamics since its founding ten years ago. Join our panelists Jessica Liao and Laura Stone as they ask: What is the essence of China’s 21st-century trade strategy, and how does the BRI factor into this vision?

Jessica C. Liao is an associate professor of political science and 2020-2021 Wilson China Fellow. She spent the past two and a half years in Beijing and throughout 2022, served as an economic development specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing where she covered China’s relations with Belt and Road Initiative countries. Prior to NC State, she taught at George Washington University and was a visit fellow at Monash University, Kuala Lumpur campus. She received her PhD in international relations from the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on Chinese foreign policy and East Asian politics.

Laura Stone, a member of the U.S. Department of State, is the Inaugural China Policy Fellow (2022-24) at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC). She was formerly Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Maldives, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Mongolia, the Director of the Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, and the Director of the Economic Policy Office in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs. She served in Hanoi, Beijing, Bangkok, Tokyo, the Public Affairs Bureau, the Pentagon Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. While at APARC, she is conducting research with the China Program on contemporary China affairs and U.S.-China policy.