Marina Rudyak (Dr.)
Tel.: +49 (06221) 54-15349 E-Mail: marina.rudyak [at] zo.uni-heidelberg.de LSF: courses this semester |
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Short Bio
Marina Rudyak is a sinologist working on the intersections of China Studies and International Development. Her research focuses on China as a global development actor, specifically Chinese foreign aid and development lending policy, the implications of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and China in Central Asia and Africa. She is also interested in the political ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and coded communication in Chinese politics.
Her recently completed doctoral dissertation “Becoming a Donor: National Role Conceptions, Reform Dynamics and Learning in China’s Foreign Aid System” traces the evolution of China’s foreign aid since the early days of the PRC and shows how China’s aid has been always part of a global story, embedded in a global context and directly or indirectly shaped by global shifts. Her dissertation was generously supported by the Geschwister-Supp-Foundation for its contribution to international understanding.
Previously (2009-2013), she worked for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Beijing. There, she was the was a Program Manager of the multi-country project “Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration Asia-China”, which provided policy advice and capacity building on cross-border economic cooperation and trade to central and local governments in China and neighbouring transition economies.
She regularly advises governmental organisations and NGOs on matters of Chinese aid, the BRI and China in Africa. She is the founder of china-aid-blog.com, where she translates and comments on developments in the Chinese aid sphere. She tweets about #ChineseAid @RudyakMarina. She is also a member of the Global Diplomacy Lab, the Sino-German Future Bridge (Zukunftsbrücke – 未来之桥), and the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network. She is fluent in Russian, German, English and Mandarin Chinese.
Research Interests
- Global China
- Chinese foreign aid and South-South Cooperation
- EU-China-Africa cooperation
- Belt and Road Initiative
- Political ideology and coded communication