Valentin Krüsmann is a development economist and researcher in the project 'China, the EU, and Economic Development in Eastern Europe and Eurasia'. His research focuses on the role of multilateral development banks in the geoeconomic orientation and governance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), infrastructure politics, the development of the Middle Corridor, and China’s role in the Central Asian energy transition. Before pursuing his PhD at Freie Universität Berlin and at ZOiS, he supported the China desk at the European External Action Service (EEAS) in Brussels, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Beijing, and a China-focused consultancy in Berlin. He studied economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Yonsei University in Seoul, and earned an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS University of London. He has also led student and early-career research delegations to the Republic of Moldova and the Transnistria region. Valentin Krüsmann speaks German, English, and Chinese.

• EU-China relations
• Chinese economic and political engagement with Eastern Europe and Eurasia
• The Belt and Road Initiative and Chinese connectivity developments
• Economic and political structures of the PRC
• Overseas Development Aid
• Development Finance

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS