Has Chinese diplomacy been ‘hijacked’?
by Alex Evans | Mar 17, 2008
Interesting to read the argument made today that China’s overseas diplomacy has in some cases – like Sudan – been “hijacked” by state-owned companies like PetroChina, that are alleged to have become “very powerful interest groups” in their own right.
Very interesting to see who’s making it: scholars at “leading Chinese think-tanks and universities in Beijing“, speaking in multiple interviews. As Richard McGregor comments, “China’s foreign ministry has not been critical of CNPC but the comments by senior academics in Beijing suggest substantial disquiet in official circles about overseas investments.”
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Alex Evans is founder of Larger Us, which explores how we can use psychology to reduce political tribalism and polarisation, a senior fellow at New York University, and author of The Myth Gap: What Happens When Evidence and Arguments Aren’t Enough? (Penguin, 2017).
He is a former Campaign Director of the 50 million member global citizen’s movement Avaaz, special adviser to two UK Cabinet Ministers, climate expert in the UN Secretary-General’s office, and was Research Director for the Business Commission on Sustainable Development.
Alex lives with his wife and two children in Yorkshire.
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