GUEST ON THIS EPISODE

Marina Rudyak is a sinologist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, working on the intersections of China Studies and International Development. Her research focuses on China as a global development actor, specifically Chinese foreign aid and development lending policy, the implications of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and China in Central Asia and Africa. She also frequently comments on the China's relationships with Russia and Europe.

She is also interested in the political ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and coded communication in Chinese politics. On that, she co-published the Decoding China Dictionary, which introduces a selection of frequently used terms with widely different interpretations between liberal democracies and China. It's available for download here.

Previously, she worked for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Beijing. She regularly advises governmental organisations and NGOs on matters of Chinese aid, the Belt and Road Initiative and on China in Africa. She is the founder of china-aid-blog.com, where she translates and comments on developments in the Chinese aid sphere. She tweets @RudyakMarina. Marina is also a member of the Global Diplomacy Lab, the Sino-German Future Bridge (Zukunftsbrücke – 未来之桥), and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network.

In this episode, she talks about the difference between the Chinese and the western definition of successful development aid, about how and why China sees itself as the voice of the Global South, and much more.

STATE OF ASIA podcast

Season 4, Episode 2 – published May 9, 2023.

Host: Nico Luchsinger, Executive Director, Asia Society Switzerland

Producer: Remko Tanis, Programs and Editorial Manager, Asia Society Switzerland

Find previous and future episodes here, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or search for 'State of Asia' in any other podcast app.