Dr Konstantinos Tsimonis will present his research on the landmark investment of the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) in the port of Piraeus, examining its political, social, economic, and environmental repercussions. Approaching COSCO’s presence as an embedded phenomenon, the lecture will unpack the roles and agency of local, regional, and global actors involved, in order to inquire into the issue of ‘Chinese influence’. The talk will also reflect on what the case of Piraeus reveals about the entanglement of China’s global ambitions with local politics and contexts.

Konstantinos Tsimonis, Assistant Professor in Chinese Politics, Panteion University, discusses his research on COSCO's investment in the port of Piraeus on Thursday 23 Oct, 4:30pm at KCL Strand campus.

This is an in-person event. Registration is required.

NB This is a free event, which means we overbook to allow for no-shows and avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee all ticket holders a place. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Those without tickets will not be admitted.

About the speaker

Konstantinos Tsimonis is Assistant Professor in Chinese Politics and Academic Lead of the Institute of International Relations (IDIS) China Program at the Department of European and International Studies, Panteion University. He is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London and an affiliate of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London where he previously served as a tenured faculty member. Konstantinos first went to Beijing in 2003 and spent a total of five years studying mandarin and working. During his doctoral studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), he conducted fieldwork in China as a visiting doctoral student at Peking University. Following the completion of his PhD, he held his first academic post at SOAS, and later joined King’s where he worked for eleven years.

His publications include the monograph The Chinese Communist Youth League: Juniority and Responsiveness in a Party Youth Organization (Amsterdam University Press, 2021); the co-authored monograph Belt and Road: The First Decade(Agenda Publishing, 2022); and the co-edited volume Corruption and Anti-Corruption Upside Down: New Perspectives from the Global South (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

Please contact lauchina@kcl.ac.uk if you have any questions or specific participatory requirements.