China in AfPak: Competition or Cooperation?

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, November 2, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/Pool

December 2, 2020

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Zoom Webinar

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China has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to connect Eurasia. Pakistan is the BRI’s “pilot project” but critics accuse Beijing of failing to live up to the hype. Meanwhile, headline grabbing Chinese projects in Afghanistan have largely come to a grinding halt. What is the future of Chinese development in South Asia and is it a threat or an opportunity for the United States? Can Beijing and Washington find common ground and avoid the pitfalls of a zero-sum competition for influence in the region?

Join a discussion that explores one of the most opaque areas of China’s foreign policy and one with significant consequences for security in a region Washington views as a terrorism hotbed. We will be joined by Andrew Small of the German Marshall Fund and author of The China-Pakistan Axis, Ammara Durrani of the Jinnah Institute who has served in management roles at UNDP Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., and USAID Pakistan, and Adam Weinstein of the Quincy Institute. The conversation will be moderated by Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director & Senior Associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center’s Asia Program.

The panel will take place on Wednesday, December 2 at 12 pm EST.

Panelists

Andrew Small

Andrew Small is a senior transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Asia Program. His research focuses on China’s foreign relations and his book The China-Pakistan Axis is the preeminent work on Pakistan’s most important foreign partnership. Previously, he worked in the German Marshall Fund’s Brussels office, as the director of the Foreign Policy Centre's Beijing office, as a visiting fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and an ESU scholar in the office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He received his M.A. from Balliol College, University of Oxford. Follow him on Twitter @ajwsmall.

Ammara Durrani

Ammara Durrani is a senior research fellow at the Jinnah Institute who has served in various roles in the public and private development sectors, including management and adviser roles at United Nations Development Programme in Pakistan, Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., and USAID Pakistan. She has also served as a visiting faculty member at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad and received the Daniel Pearl Fellowship for journalism. She holds and M. Phil. in International Relations from the University of Cambridge and an M.A.and B.A. in General History from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. Follow her on Twitter @ammaradurrani.

Adam Weinstein

Adam Weinstein is a Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute. He previously worked for KPMG’s international trade practice. Adam’s current research focuses on security, trade, and rule of law in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He is a member of the American Pakistan Foundation’s Leadership Council and has presented at various conferences in Pakistan. He received a J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law with a concentration in international law and transitional justice. Adam served as a U.S. Marine and deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. Follow him on Twitter @AdamNoahWho.

Michael Kugelman (Moderator)

Michael Kugelman is the Asia Program Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, where he focuses on US relations with Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. He frequently publishes commentary in top policy outlets and has published policy briefs, journal articles, and book chapters on a variety of South Asian issues. He received his M.A. in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and B.A. from American University’s School of International Service. Follow him on Twitter @michaelkugelman.