The Political Logics of China’s Global Infrastructure: Redefining Development in the Global South

In this CeMEAS Conversation, we speak with Austin Strange about his recent publication on the political logics and global implications of China’s infrastructure projects. Mr. Strange explores the historical foundations and evolution of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as China’s role as a key global actor in development cooperation. He discusses the challenges and opportunities of China’s infrastructure projects, including their appeal to countries in the Global South, political and economic risks, and their impact on public attitudes toward China. The conversation also covers the role of emerging actors, the future of green and digital infrastructure projects, and the broader influence of these initiatives on other development stakeholders worldwide.

In this interview Austin Strange discusses the following questions:

1.What drives China’s global infrastructure initiatives beyond economic goals?

2.Why is building reliable data on China’s global infrastructure projects so crucial and what makes this task so challenging?

3.Why are China’s infrastructure projects particularly attractive to developing countries, and how do they differ from traditional development aid?

4.How do China’s infrastructure projects increase its global influence, and how can research help us understand their effect on attitudes in developing countries?

5.With China’s shift toward digital and green infrastructure under initiatives like the Digital Silk Road, what new opportunities and challenges arise for its global influence?

6.How is the Belt and Road Initiative evolving in its second decade with new actors, and how has its infrastructure focus transformed global development priorities?

Austin Strange is an Associate Professor of International Relations in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Hong Kong. He teaches and researches international relations, international development, and Chinese foreign policy. He is the author of Chinese Global Infrastructure (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and co-author of Banking on Beijing: The Aims and Impacts of China’s Overseas Development Program (Cambridge University Press, 2022).

Austin’s research has appeared or is forthcoming in American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Journal of Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and Journal of Conflict Resolution, among others. In 2022 Austin was awarded the University of Hong Kong’s Early Career Teaching Award. From 2023-2025 he is a fellow in the National Committee on United States-China Relations Public Intellectuals Program, and previously he was a fellow at the Wilson Center and the Columbia-Harvard China and the World Program. Austin earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University, an M.A. from Zhejiang University, and a B.A. from College of William and Mary.

Austin Strange, Chinese Global Infrastructure, Cambridge University Press, 2023. The book is available as Open Access and can be downloaded here.