Chinese Cities - Sciences Po - OGLM 3050 - 59127 - S2 2025 Clément Renaud [hi@clementrenaud.com](mailto:hi@clementrenaud.com) (use left/right keyboard arrows to navigate) --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Week 11 # 外 ## Abroad: The Export Of The Chinese City #### 15 Apr 2025 --- class: inverse, center, middle ## Character of the week # 外 [Purple Culture](https://www.purpleculture.net/dictionary-details/?word=外) / [Hanziyuan](https://hanziyuan.net/) / [CUHK dic](https://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-mf/search.php?word=外) --- class: inverse # Some practical matters - [Fiche de présence](https://scolarite.sciences-po.fr/PROD/twbkwbis.P_GenMenu?name=homepage) - Assignments - Any questions? --- # Program today - China becoming global - BRI - case study: the SEZs in Africa - assignment? --- class: inverse, middle # 1. China: becoming global ### Global networks of cities --- background-image: url(/talks/atlas-of-data/img/UABB_CARTOGRAPHIES-OF-PLANETARY-URBANISATION_Topalovic.jpg) .inverse[ # Planetory Urbanisation ] .footnote.inverse[ Schmid, Brenner & Topalovic, 2018 ] --- background-image: url(/talks/atlas-of-data/img/gravity-shift.jpg) .inverse[ # Shift in Global Economic Gravity Center ] .footnote.inverse[ McKinsey / Quah, 2011 ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/silk-road-ancient.webp) # The Silk road .footnote.small[  ] .footnote[ - very early on, China had "global" cities: ancient times, Shanghai 20s ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/silk-road.jpg) # The NEW Silk road  --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/bri-china-from-pole.svg) # Nodes in global networks ### City networks along economic corridors .footnote[ - 20th century ["Networked city"](https://www.atributosurbanos.es/en/terms/networked-city/) - [Fukuyama - exporting the Chinese model](https://www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/china-one-belt-one-road-strategy-by-francis-fukuyama-2016-01) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/deng-cowboy.png) # China's Changing International Posture ### Transition from regional to global power .footnote[ - used to be "lay low", now change of tone (wolf wariors) - [Jiang Shigong - _Empire and World Order_](https://www.readingthechinadream.com/jiang-shigong-empire-and-world-order.html) - [Ren Jiantao on diplomacy](https://www.eastisread.com/p/moral-idealism-the-political-logic) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/footprint-global-ports.png) # The export of "Made in China" infrastructures ### Chinese standards becoming global norms --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/chongqing.jpg) # Cities as platforms for international influence ### 19 city clusters, 9 mega urban regions .footnote[ - private club of "global" cities - Pic of Chongqing - [source](https://www.behance.net/gallery/101384565/ChongQing-the-New-World-Habitat?locale=fr_FR) ] --- class: inverse, middle # 2. Projecting influence ### The Belt and Road initiative --- # Historical Foundations - 6,400 kilometers - Facilitated exchange of goods, technologies, religions, and ideas - Trading hubs: Xian, Dunhuang, Kashgar, and Samarkand... ### History - over 1,500 years (130 BCE-1453 CE) - Mongol Empire fragmentation - 15th-20th centuries as maritime trade dominated - Revival in post-Reform China (1980s-90s) - Historical nostalgia + economic dev framework for inland cities as logistics hubs - Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2001) - "Go West" domestic development policy (2000) - "Going Global" strategy for Chinese enterprises --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/xi-plane-pakistan.jpg) # "One Belt, One Road" (2013) ### 一带一路 .footnote[ - Infrastructure + Connectivity across 140+ countries - 60% of global population, 30%+ of world GDP - Ports, roads, rail, cities, industrial parks - Announced in Kazakhstan in September 2013 - "Maritime Silk Road" announced in Indonesia in October 2013 - [USD46 bn in Pakistan - April 2015](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/20/china-to-unveil-46bn-investment-in-pakistan-during-visit-by-xi-jingping) - Objective: Infrastructure connectivity as foundation for expanded trade and investment ] --- # Renaming OBOR to BRI ## From linear routes to networked regional development - Initial focus: Central Asia, Southeast Asia - Multiple corridors - Current extent: 150+ countries across Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Oceania - specialized BRI industrial parks in China ### Evolution (2013-2024) - 2013-2016: Transportation infrastructure (railways, ports, highways) - 2016-2019: Energy, digital infrastructure, industrial parks - 2019-2024: Health Silk Road, Digital Silk Road, Green Silk Road --- background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/aiib-founding-members.png) .inverse[ ## The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ### Multilateral development bank ] .footnote[ - Founded in 2015 with HQ in Beijing - focused on infrastructure investment across Asia - Capitalization $100 billion, with China as largest shareholder (~26.5%) - 106 approved members globally (as of 2024) - BRI Financing through direct project loans / co-loans with World Bank, ADB, EBRD.. - Project standards/safeguards (eco, social, governance) comparable to other dev banks ] --- # BRI's Five Major Components - Policy Coordination and alignment - Infrastructure networks connecting Asian subregions + Europe and Africa - Removing trade barriers - Financial cooperation, currency stability, and expanded financial markets - People-to-People: Cultural exchange, academic cooperation, tourism, and technology transfer --- # BRI Urban Exports 1. Hard Infrastructure / Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) - Roads, bridges, ports, utilities 2. Planned Urban Areas - Special Economic Zones (SEZs) - Urban megaprojects (e.g., new capitals) - Eco-city and low-carbon zones 3. Governance & Policy Transfer - Planning systems, zoning laws 4. Technology & Surveillance - Smart city platforms (Huawei, ZTE, Alibaba) - surveillance networks (AI, facial recognition) --- class:inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/gwadars-zonal-master-plan.png) ## Signature BRI Project: Gwadar, Pakistan .footnote[ - Deep-sea port, part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - $1.62 billion investment - new city masterplan: investment zones, smart city ambitions - Environmental & local community concerns ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/colombo-port-city.webp) # Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka ### BRI flagship .footnote[ - $1.4 billion land reclamation project by China Harbour Engineering Co. - 269 hectares of new urban land - Integrated financial city, green spaces, TOD - ["new Dubai or a Chinese enclave?"](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59993386) ] --- # Railways ### Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (Indonesia) - 1st high-speed rail in Southeast Asia - 142 km, $7.3 billion investment, partially AIIB-financed - Completed 2023, connecting Indonesia's largest urban centers ### Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway (Ethiopia/Djibouti) - 759 km electrified railway - $4 billion investment - Connected (landlocked) Ethiopia to maritime trade - Reduced transport time from 3 days to 12 hours --- # Global competition over urban futures - New standards of speed and scale - Competing models of planning: West vs. China - Multipolar urbanism: global Urban corridors - knowledge/cultural transfer between China and BRI nations (not only infra) ### Future Directions (announced) - "Small is beautiful" - Green infrastructure / sustainability standards - Digital Silk Road --- # What is transferred exactly? - Exporting not just form, but governance logic - sovereignty and transparency - "Neo-colonial" - Debt-for-infrastructure dilemmas - the ["debt trap"](https://www.reuters.com/world/us-aims-counter-chinas-influence-global-institutions-yellen-says-2023-03-29/) - Top-down planning and authoritarian efficiency (no participatory design) - Cultural misfit of urban models - Mixed adoption: adjusted to local political systems - Environmental risks --- class: inverse, middle # 3. Case study: SEZs in Africa ### Special Economic Zones (SEZs) going global --- # Exporting the SEZ Model - Over 100 zones established or planned globally - Part of China's "Going Global" strategy - Fast setup, manufacturing focus - Adaptation challenges: Local conditions vs. Chinese template - Government-to-government agreements --- class:inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/Africa-SEZs.png) ## SEZs in Africa .footnote[ - Ethiopia, Zambia, Egypt, Kenya - Chinese-designed and operated zones - Focus on manufacturing, logistics - Mixed success - [UNDP study ](https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/cn/UNDP-CH-Comparative-Study-on-SEZs-in-Africa-and-China---ENG.pdf) ] --- class: inverse background-image: url(/chinese-cities/img/sez-angola.jpg) # Negociating the Chinese SEZ Model .footnote[ - how zones operate in practice?: Zhengli Huang - Varying degrees of success across different contexts - complex spaces of negotiation and adaptation image: Kilamba Kiaxi in Luanda, Angola ]