The “Learning Empire: Autonomy, Dependence, and China’s Emerging Imperial Practices” consortium is being funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) over a four-year period. The focus includes raw materials, digital infrastructure, finances, renewable energy, science, and ideology.
A subproject led by Professor Wiebke A. Rabe focuses specifically on China’s international raw materials policy. Under the title “China’s Raw Materials Empire: Imperial Practices in Overseas Mineral Extraction and Processing,” the research team examines how Chinese activities in the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials abroad have developed and how strategic goals are pursued in this context.
Access to raw materials has historically been considered a key resource for the rise and stability of empires. With this in mind, the project analyzes four raw materials particularly relevant to the energy transition in three regions of the world: cobalt and copper in the so-called Copperbelt in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia, lithium in the Lithium Triangle in Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, and nickel in Indonesia.
Several key questions are at the center of this analysis: How has China’s behavior in international raw material extraction changed? What strategic patterns can be identified? And to what extent does this create new dependencies on the People’s Republic?
The project employs four analytical approaches to address these questions. First, it reconstructs learning processes among Chinese political and economic elites since the beginning of the Xi era, identifying key actors, triggers, and policy responses. Second, the team examines the temporal and spatial expansion of Chinese control over raw material projects and the associated infrastructure. Third, the focus turns to the actors in the host countries who facilitate and stabilize these projects, as well as their interests and patterns of behavior. Fourth, conclusions are drawn regarding China’s growing autonomy in global supply chains and the emerging dependencies of partner countries.
The empirical foundation is formed by extensive field research in all three regions. This includes interviews, direct on-site observations, and the systematic analysis of large volumes of text.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Rabe
Universität Bremen
Institute of Intercultural and International Studies
Tel: +49 421 218-67460
E-Mail: wrabeprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de
