As we mark the 50th anniversary of EU-China relations, the digital realm emerges as a defining frontier in their ongoing engagement. This session will explore the pivotal role of mutual trust in shaping the future of EU-China digital relations. Over the past five decades, both regions have navigated complex economic, political, and technological landscapes, with the digital domain now serving as a critical area for collaboration and tension. While the European Union prioritizes data protection, privacy rights, and digital sovereignty, China has advanced a state-driven approach, emphasizing control over cyberspace and advancing its Digital Silk Road initiative. As both actors expand their digital influence beyond their borders, the Global South has become a critical arena where competing models of digital governance are tested, exported, and contested.  During this event, we discuss the role of trust in EU-China relations, how that evolved historically and whether the field of digital governance depends on it.

Speaker: Dr. Marina Rudyak is an Assistant Professor for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg University. Her research focuses on China’s international development cooperation, China’s international discourse power, and China’s relations with Africa, Russia, and Central Asia. She is currently a principal investigator in the Horizon Europe project “Detecting and Countering Information Suppression from a Transnational Perspective” (De-Conspirator). She is furthermore co-founder and co-managing director of The Decoding China Project, which publishes the Decoding China Dictionary. Previously, she worked for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Beijing and Bishkek. Marina studied Modern and Classical Chinese Studies and Public Law in Heidelberg and Shanghai, and holds an MA and PhD in Chinese Studies from Heidelberg University. 

Moderator: Franziska Plümmer (University of Amsterdam)

Join online: https://uva-live.zoom.us/meetings/66478353749/invitations?signature=8CfGGAJfrHMpVv9Q92H_T69m3DicStJIyikhD4Nyj1Q