University of Helsinki
On 4 April 2023, University of Helsinki Chinese Studies and the Finnish China Law Center will hold an online seminar on “Chinese Companies Abroad and the Host Country’s Laws: the Case of Dirty Industries in Serbia“. The event will be moderated by Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Helsinki.
Time: Tuesday 4 April, 14:00-15:30 Helsinki Time (13:00-14:30 CEST)
Venue: Online. Please register before Friday 31 March at https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/122724/lomake.html to receive link.
The activities of Chinese companies abroad are an integral part of the robust transformation of today’s economic, geopolitical, and sociocultural landscapes at the local, regional, and global levels. The presence of Chinese capital abroad has been encountering and provoking a wide range of reactions among different political and social actors—from suspicion, reservation, and resistance to warm welcome and exceptional enthusiasm.
This talk will look at the ongoing situation in Serbia, a country governed by a regime that has been among the closest partners of the Chinese government and Chinese companies in Europe and beyond. The talk will focus on the legal dynamics that enable and maintain the much acclaimed “iron-clad friendship” between the two countries and the energetic economic interactions between their governments and businesses. The legal dynamics in question pertain to the Chinese companies that work in Serbia’s dirty industries, namely the production of tires, iron, and steel. Special attention will also be paid to the analysis of the legal aspects of China’s presence in Serbia’s copper and gold mining industry.
About the Speaker
Dušica Ristivojević is a senior researcher in the Department of Cultures of the University of Helsinki. Dušica specializes in the longue-durée dynamics of China’s global interactions, print and digital media, and social organizing in and out of China. She is finalizing her book manuscript on the transnational links of China’s political movements and is observing the country’s presence in Europe’s Eastern peripheries with regard to dirty industry and digital technology.