China – Dancing with the Dragon: Between Cooperation and Confrontation

China is currently omnipresent and characterises numerous topics, problems and social discourses. With China’s economic strengthening over the last 30 years, its political self-confidence has grown as well. China is increasingly vigorously representing its own interests and demands on the world political stage. This is leading to growing tensions with both neighbouring states in the Indo-Pacific region and the West, with which an increasing socio-economic and political competition between systems prevails, as postulated by both sides. At the same time, due to China’s size and population, as well as international economic interdependence, global crises and challenges such as climate change can only be successfully addressed in cooperation with China.

In the lectures of this module, we will take a closer look at China’s traditions and values, as well as its politics and economy. We will discuss current topics such as the new Silk Road, environmental protection, ongoing trade disputes or the questionable human rights situation, but we will also look at the long-standing ties between RWTH and China. For example, RWTH has a double master’s programme with the Chinese elite university Tsinghua University in Beijing and a joint research laboratory. The more than 2800 Chinese students at RWTH Aachen University make up by far the largest group among international students. The series of events will also include various guest lectures, offering the opportunity to exchange ideas with experts on the individual topics, so that student contributions are always possible and encouraged.