SOAS China Institute

Talk:  China’s Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road
Speaker: Tom Miller
Date: Monday, 15 May 2017, 5.00pm - 7.00pm
Location: Room B111, 1st floor, Brunei Gallery, SOAS University of London, Thornhaugh Street, London, WC1H 0XG

Abstract
In this talk, Tom Miller talks about his new book, China’s Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road.

"China", Napoleon once remarked, "is a sleeping lion. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world." In 2014, President Xi Jinping triumphantly declared the lion had awakened. Under his leadership, China is pursuing a dream to restore its historical position as the dominant power in Asia.

From the Mekong River Basin to the Central Asian steppe, China is flexing its economic muscles for strategic ends. By setting up new regional financial institutions, Beijing is challenging the post-World War II order established under the watchful eye of Washington. And by funding and building roads, railways, ports and power lines―a New Silk Road across Eurasia and through the South China Sea and Indian Ocean―China aims to draw its neighbours ever tighter into its embrace.

Combining a geopolitical overview with on-the-ground reportage from a dozen countries, China’s Asian Dream offers a fresh perspective on the rise of China’ and what it means for the future of Asia?

Biography
Tom is a senior analyst at Gavekal Research and managing editor of the China Economic Quarterly, published by its sister service Gavekal Dragonomics. A former journalist, he has reported from a dozen countries in Asia and given talks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Chatham House and the World Bank. He has been quoted by the Financial Times, Economist, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg, and appeared on the BBC, CNN and CNBC. From time to time, he reviews books for The Spectator.

Tom was educated at Oxford and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, and spent two years studying Chinese in Beijing. He is the author of two acclaimed books. His first, China’s Urban Billion: The Story Behind the Biggest Migration in Human History, was published in 2012 and translated into Chinese. His second, China’s Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road, was published in 2017. After 14 years living and working in China, Tom is based in the UK but spends much of his time in Asia.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration required, however admission is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Further details: https://www.soas.ac.uk/china-institute/events/15may2017-chinas-asian-dream-empire-building-along-the-new-silk-road.html


Kind regards,

Li-Sa Whittington
Executive Officer, SOAS China Institute
SOAS, University of London
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