“President Xi shows ambition to make China the environmental leader, not only domestically but also globally,” said Dr. Yixian Sun during a discussion at DIHI Talks on Friday, December 13th of this year. Yixian Sun is an associate professor of International Development at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. He mentioned several attempts made by China to shift the Belt and Road Initiative into a Green Belt and Road Initiative. Yixian added, “What has driven China to move towards a Green BRI?”
Moderated by Dr. Maharani Hapsari, the discussion was fruitful, with around 20 participants joining the discourse. Dr. Titik Firawati was among the participants. She raised a question regarding Yixian’s theoretical perspective on international pressure and norm theory. She asked how Yixian separates these two tricky concepts and ultimately concludes that norms matter most. Another interesting question was raised by Faisal, an IR graduate student. He asked for a clear definition of Green BRI, inquiring whether “greening the project” would also include social aspects such as the rights of indigenous people around the project.
At the end of the discussion, Yixian shared his project website on the Sustainability Governance of China’s Global Infrastructure Investments (SGAIN). He also invited participants interested in the topics to further discuss the issue.
