China and Network Great Power Ambitions

PizzaSeminar: China and Network Great Power Ambitions

Discussions about the security of 5G networks in Germany always include the question of whether Chinese technology providers should be allowed to participate in the construction of the networks. Emily de la Bruyère and Nathan Picarsic from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies have analysed how the issue of IT and communication security is talked about in China itself. It turns out that the messages to the outside world and to the domestic market are quite different. Externally, there is a call for free markets, openness, cooperation and interdependence, suggesting that companies like Huawei should be treated like other private sector actors and welcomed into foreign networks. The domestic Chinese discourse, on the other hand, emphasises the limits of free markets and the dangers of dependence on foreign technologies. It also suggests that commercial communication networks can be used to aggressively project power and influence, and that international technical standards provide a means to cement such power and influence. In this virtual PizzaSeminar, Emily de la Bruyère and Nathan Picarsic present their findings on the Chinese communication strategy.

Please register via email to info@bigs-potsdam.org

About the speakers:

Emily de la Bruyère is a co-founder of Horizon Advisory, a geopolitical consultancy, as well as a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Her work focuses on China’s standardization ambitions, military-civil fusion strategy, and platform geopolitics, as well as their implications for global security and the economic order. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and a Master of Arts from Sciences Po, Paris, where she was a Michel David-Weill fellow.

Nathan Picarsic is a co-founder of Horizon Advisory, a geopolitical consultancy, and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). His research focuses on industrial policy and the Chinese Communist Party’s asymmetric orientation for global economic and security competitions. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and has completed executive education programs through Harvard Business School and the Defense Acquisition University