Visiting Assistant Professor of Government Ivan Rasmussen presented “How to Make Friends: Chinese Partnership and Alliance Strategy in Southeast Asia” on Dec. 10 at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Rasmussen discussed strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia and argued “that despite common perceptions of Chinese assertive or aggressive action such as island building in the South China Seas, there is more nuance particularly as it forges forward with the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank plus other bilateral partnerships.” He said that “Chinese foreign policy is undergoing a shift towards seeking more allies at the same time as focusing on bilateral relations with less effort to work through multilateral institutions.”
The talk was part of the center’s International Security Brown Bag Seminar series administered by international relations experts Stephen Walt and Steven Miller.
