1. The Rules of the Road
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The Rules of the Road

This project evaluates and analyses what rules (environmental and social) do large Chinese investors follow when building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and beyond.

Factsheet

Situation

This project funded by the German National Science Foundation (DFG) evaluates the practices of Chinese investors in order to develop a novel theoretical perspective on the role of multinational corporations from Emerging Economies re-shaping global norms. The study will develop an innovative and timely approach to Chinese investments.

Course of action

A first part will employ machine-learning text analysis of newspaper articles to create a new and highly original database (CIRUS, for Chinese investment rules). This publicly available database will support societal interests, facilitate research on Chinese firms and their impact on global economic governance by industry associations, academics, think-tanks, journalists, etc. A second part will test and deepen the proposed theory of how the BICs (specifically China) may be altering global rules through their investors’ behaviour in terms of their alignment or lack thereof with best practice. The project also seeks to understand the degree and means by which the Chinese leadership is able to shape the behaviour of these investors.

Contact

Prof. Dr. Omar Ramon Serrano

  • Leiter International Office
  • +41 31 848 52 86
  • Show e-mail

This project contributes to the following SDGs

  • 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
  • 11: Sustainable cities and communities
  • 12: Responsible consumption and production
  • 13: Climate action
  • 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Links