Forum with Delegation from Academy of Military Science

On Wednesday, November 18, 2015, ISDP hosted a Forum with representatives from the People Liberation Army’s Academy of Military Science. The forum was part of a week-long series of events organized on the occasion of the AMS delegation’s visit to Stockholm.

Keynote speakers were ISDP Director Dr. Niklas Swanström, and the delegation leader Senior Colonel Wei Chang, Office Director and Senior Research Fellow at the AMS Department of Military Strategic Studies.

The year 2015 has been a defining moment for the launch of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative, which is expected to promote China’s domestic economic development, as well as the economies of Central and East Asian countries. The ultimate goal of OBOR is to establish a trade corridor between China and the European Union, with substantial benefits for all the countries en route.

Such an ambitious project will inevitably face a series of challenges, ranging from China’s slowing economy, to endemic corruption and regional instability in Central Asia. The success of OBOR will ultimately depend on how effectively China will be able to take the lead as the main regional force behind the initiative. This will entail a series of political and economic reforms, as well as spearheading processes of stabilization and institution-building in the Central Asian countries.