Armenia may be an unlikely place to discuss the challenges of rising China. Yet Yerevan was the venue for a Eurasia-wide conference at which a broad diversity of research was presented on China’s ambitious connectivity projects. EUCON researcher, David Morris, was one of the keynote speakers at the Eurasian Research on Modern China and Eurasia Conference, hosted in Yerevan by the China-Eurasia Council for Political and Strategic Research, December 2-3. It was an opportunity to exchange views on conflicts and competition across Eurasia, as well as to explore potential convergence and cooperation.
David Morris further explored the themes of the EUCON project in a series of expert research and company interviews in Yerevan during his visit.
David gave a lecture at EUCON partner university, the Armenian State University of Economics on December 5, engaging students with a survey of their views, while he discussed global systemic disruptions and the risks and opportunities of China’s connectivity initiatives across Eurasia. Students identified global risks such as war, pandemic, populism and authoritarianism, the gap between rich and poor, climate change and unregulated artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the students were optimistic new technologies, globalisation, better collaboration between developed and developing nations, a green economy and better international communication and education could help create opportunities in the future.
At the Armenian State University of Economics, David also met with the Rector, Professor Diana Galoyan and they discussed the importance of international collaboration between universities in research.
