China Knowledge Network
The Dutch China Knowledge Network (CKN) is a network established to connect China experts and disseminate knowledge within the government of the Netherlands and beyond.
#42 Sustainable Built Environment Cooperation Between the Netherlands and China
#41 Chinese Civil Society in the Netherlands and Europe
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Latest CKN Knowledge Sessions Recordings
What can Europe learn from Taiwan’s fight against disinformation?
In this video, Florian Schneider ( Leiden Asia Centre’s Academic Director and Professor Modern China at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies) discusses what Europe can learn from Taiwan's fight against dinsinformation in a time of AI. Earlier this year, Schneider spent six months in Taiwan as a visiting scholar at the Department of Political Science of National Taiwan University, where he conducted research for the project Fake Factory: Disinformation and Learning Machines in Taiwan. His study explores how people in Taiwan think about and respond to disinformation in the context of AI – and what lessons this might hold for Europe.
China's Nuclear Energy Push, A Blueprint for the World?
Floriske Deutman (sinologist and chair of the Foundation for Energy Transition & Nuclear Power) discusses the scale, motivations, and implications of China’s nuclear ambitions. China is rapidly expanding its nuclear energy capacity. By 2040, the country aims to double its capacity and surpass the United States as the world’s largest nuclear power producer. This development raises important questions about China’s energy security, the role of nuclear power in its energy transition, and the geopolitical implications of this fast-paced expansion.
Latest CKN Report Presentations
CKN Report Presentation - Chinese Development Finance in a Shifting Global Order by dr. Jue Wang
The report examines how CDF has evolved from what was once described as “patient capital” into a more commercially oriented model. It explores the global and domestic factors shaping this shift, its implications for recipient countries, and its position within the broader development finance landscape. Key themes include: China’s emphasis on large-scale infrastructure and the strategic role of policy banks, fragmented governance structures and institutional rivalries, the “post-peak” phase of CDF, with a turn towards green finance, digital infrastructure, and PPPs, narratives of “debt-trap diplomacy” and the realities of borrower agency and China’s bilateral versus multilateral approaches to development finance.
CKN Report Presentation - Sustainable Built Environment Cooperation Between the Netherlands and China
This report aims to deepen global insight into China’s sustainable built environment progress and support cooperation across government, business, and research. By reviewing policy frameworks and practical experiences, it aims to foster collaboration in green construction, low-carbon transition, and circularity on the basis of equality, mutual trust, and mutual benefit. Such joint efforts will not only strengthen both countries’ competitiveness and leadership in the global sustainable manufacturing industry, also support the achievement of international climate goals and the advancement of global sustainable development.
Latest CKN Interviews
Jue Wang on Chinese Development Finance in a Shifting Global Order
Jue Wang is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies. She is a scholar of the Chinese economy and Global Political Economy, with expertise in international political economy, development finance, international organisations, technology policies, and global governance. Her research has been published in International Relations, Chinese Journal of International Politics, International Affairs, and Chinese Political Science Review, among others. She is also a frequent media commentator on China and international political economy.
Jos Brouwers and Bowen Xu on Sustainable Built Environment Cooperation Between the Netherlands and China
Bowen Xu, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow and currently a postdoctoral researcher at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His research focuses on sustainable structural design, structural applications of sustainable building materials, and the integration of circular economy principles into building systems.
Jos Brouwers, full professor at the Department of the Built Environment of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), where he leads the Building Materials research group. His research covers sustainable cements and concretes, the circular use of industrial by-products in construction, particle packing theory, and durability modeling. He is widely recognized for his contributions to eco-efficient building materials, having published more than 250 scientific papers with over 24,000 citations.
Maggie Leung on Chinese Civil Society in the Netherlands and Europe
Maggi W.H. Leung is Professor of International Development Studies and Chair of the Governance and Inclusive Development research group. A geographer and migration scholar by training, her research focuses on the socio-spatial impacts of migration and mobilities, particularly in peripherised and climate-affected areas.