Valentin Krüsmann is an economist focused on international development who specialises in China’s economic engagement with Eastern Europe and Eurasia. He joined ZOiS in May 2021 as a researcher in the project China, the EU and Policy Space for Development in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Krüsmann holds an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS University of London and a BSc in Economics from the Vienna University of Economics and Business. He has also studied at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and at Yunnan Normal University in Kunming, China. Prior to joining ZOiS, he supported the China division of the European External Action Service in Brussels, the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Zusammenarbeit) in Beijing, and Sinolytics, a China-focused research consultancy in Berlin. He has also led young students and research delegations on fact-finding programmes to contentious regions around the world, including Moldova and the Transnistrian region. He speaks English, German 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