Seminar Presentation at Henan Normal University 河南师范大学: “Designing an Ideal OBOR Curriculum for University Students”

It was my great honor to lead a seminar presentation at Henan Normal University 河南师范大学 Law Faculty, Xin Xiang, Henan, PRC, on April 23, 2018. The seminar centered (as its title suggests) on Designing an Ideal Curriculum for China’s One Belt One Road Initiative.

While this project is particularly important for China, it also has significant value for non-Chinese faculties. While in some respects OBOR represents a repackaging and a set of coherent variations on traditional methodologies and objectives of trade (and its use of trade law), in many significant respects it also suggests both fundamental change in approaches to trade regimes, and especially to the principles under which they are operated and the tools and methods that are used to implement them. It suggests a self-reflexive integration of trade, finance, human rights, and development projects around macro-economic policy objectives structured around the potentially potent Chinese concept of “mutually beneficial cooperation.” To that extent, at least, non-Chinese academics, business people and policy makers ought to at least have a working knowledge of the emerging system, its philosophy and working methods.

To that end I include below the PowerPoints used to structure seminar presentation. These suggest both the scope of the issues around OBOR and the challenges for designing a curriculum around OBOR. The PowerPoints may also be accessed HERE.