Latin American and African experts gather in Washington, DC, for a multination deep dive on how countries can best respond to China’s growing global presence, in a conference hosted by the University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs and the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.
Many countries in Africa and Latin America hold shared ambitions, from mitigating poverty and inequality to countering transnational crime, fighting corruption, and responsibly managing resource wealth. Both regions have also been recipients of a recent flood of Chinese investment. This economic engagement has addressed real development needs, but it has also presented challenges.
To explore what African and Latin American countries can learn from one another on navigating China’s growing global presence, the China-Global South Initiative (a collaboration between the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub) is gathering experts from across Africa and Latin America, as well as from the private sector and US and allied governments, in Washington, DC. Over two days, these experts will kickstart innovative and collaborative policy solutions that help these countries exercise their sovereignty, protect their environments, strengthen their institutions, resist coercion, and ultimately ensure engagement with China serves their own interests.
Please register below to express your interest in attending this conference.
Speakers
Agenda
October 6
9:30–9:40 a.m. | Welcome remarks
Speakers
Joshua Eisenman
Professor of Politics, Keough School of Global Affairs,
University of Notre Dame
Melanie Hart
Senior Director, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
9:40–10:40 a.m. | Opening plenary panel
Speakers
Parsifal D’Sola
Founder and CEO,
Andrés Bello Foundation;
Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
Leland Lazarus
Founder and CEO,
Lazarus Consulting, LLC;
Nonresident Fellow, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
Sanusha Naidu
Senior Research Fellow,
Institute for Global Dialogue
Rama Yade
Senior Director, Africa Center,
Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Joshua Eisenman
Professor of Politics, Keough School of Global Affairs,
University of Notre Dame
11:00 a.m.–12:15 p.m. | China’s impact on governance and rights in Latin America
Featuring
Luis Almagro
Director, Observatory for Democracy,
CASLA Institute
Moderated by
Victoria Chonn-Ching
Nonresident Fellow, Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center,
Atlantic Council
12:15–1:00 p.m. | Lunch
Free time for networking; catered meals available.
1:00–2:15 p.m. | China’s impact on natural resources and the environment in Africa
Speakers
Richard Asante
Associate Professor, Institute of African Studies,
University of Ghana
Asma Amina Belem
Visiting Scholar, Department of African Studies,
Howard University
Ebagnerin Jérôme Tondoh
Associate Professor of Agroecology,
Nangui Abrogoua University
Moderated by
Ellis Adjei Adams
Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Policy, Keough School of Global Affairs,
University of Notre Dame
2:30–3:45 p.m. | The future of US competitiveness in developing economies
Featuring
Adam Frost
Former Senior Vice President, China and Transformational Exports Program,
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Meredith Potter
Executive Director,
American Security Fund
Michael Schiffer
Former Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia,
United States Agency for International Development
Moderated by
Melanie Hart
Senior Director, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
October 7
9:30–9:45 a.m. | Registration
Coffee and pastries available
9:45–11:00 a.m. | Sovereignty and strategies when negotiating with China
Speakers
Ambassador Derek J. Mitchell
Visiting Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Keough School of Global Affairs
University of Notre Dame;
Senior Advisor to the Office of the President and the Asia Program,
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Samantha Custer
Catherine M. Kelleher Fellow in Cooperative Security,
University of Maryland School of Public Policy
Sergio Guzmán
Co-Founder and Director,
Colombia Risk Analysis;
Nonresident Journalist Fellow, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Joshua Eisenman
Professor of Politics, Keough School of Global Affairs,
University of Notre Dame
11:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | A data-driven look at US-China competition for hearts and minds
12:00–12:45 p.m. | Lunch
Free time for networking; catered meals available.
12:45–2:00 p.m. | Broadening the field: Competitive alternatives in development finance and investment
Speakers
Nik Foster
Former Deputy China Advisor
USAID;
Nonresident Fellow, Global China Hub,
Atlantic Council
Vasuki Shastry
Advisory Council Member, UK in the World Program
Chatham House
Seán Nolan
Former Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy, and Review Department
International Monetary Fund
James Mazzarella
Senior Fellow, Freedom and Prosperity Center
Atlantic Council
Moderated by
Jeremy Mark
Nonresident Senior Fellow
Atlantic Council
2:00–3:15 p.m. | Roundtable: Ways forward
An interactive dialogue aimed at identifying constructive responses to China’s expanding presence in Latin America and Africa.
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Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs is a vibrant community dedicated to serving human dignity through research, teaching, and policy engagement. With a strong presence in Washington, DC, the Keough School connects scholarship to practice, shaping policies that foster integral human development around the world. Learn more at Keough@nd.edu.
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The Global China Hub tracks Beijing’s actions and their global impacts, assessing China’s rise from multiple angles and identifying emerging China policy challenges. The Hub leverages its network of China experts around the world to generate actionable recommendations for policymakers in Washington and beyond.
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