Seminar | China's Green Belt and Road Initiative: Competitiveness and Sustainability

October 14, 2026

4:00 p.m. - 5 p.m,

Iscte, Building 4, Room B325

As China has developed a vast green industry at home, it is actively seeking overseas markets. The Chinese government is supporting that pursuit under the Green Belt and Road Initiative. Drawing on examples of Chinese green energy projects in Africa and Southeast Asia, this talk provides an overview of various models that China uses to support its green development cooperation. It makes some comparisons between Chinese and common Western models, discusses the financial, social, and environmental sustainability of Chinese green projects, and suggests some differences between the Green BRI and traditional BRI that could spur new prospects for global green development.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Yang Jiang is a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DISS). She does research on the contemporary political economy of China, including the domestic politics of economic reform, economic diplomacy, and outward investment. She is especially interested in the interlinkage between China’s domestic conditions and foreign economic policy. Yang Jiang’s current research projects include breakthroughs in China’s economic reform and Chinese green development cooperation.