Asian Studies Days 2023: At the Crux of New Europe-Asia Relations

Recent geopolitical and macroeconomic shifts have underscored the urgency of reevaluating the relationships between European and Asian countries. The rivalry between the US and China has exposed smaller European and Asian states to critical security and economic vulnerabilities over which they have limited control. Meanwhile, China is strategically positioning itself on the global stage to assume a leading normative role.

In Europe, it becomes imperative to grasp the regional dynamics in Asia and understand Asian countries better to chart a course that safeguards both our values and interests.

With a wealth of outstanding scholarship in Asia, Asian Studies Days 2023 aims to delineate the key dynamics shaping current changes and pinpoint the essential areas requiring our attention.

Asian Studies Days 2023 will be arranged at the University of Turku on October 31 and November 1. October 31 is designated for the annual doctoral seminar and the main conference day will take place on November 1.

The full program and the registration link will be published in October.

Preliminary program, November 1

Morning session 10:30-12:00

– Keynote speech by Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament: “EU, strategic autonomy and increasing role of Asia”
– Panel discussion on Europe-Asia relations

Chair: Jyrki Kallio, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Panel members:
Sirpa Pietikäinen, Member of the European Parliament
Liisa Kauppila, Senior Researcher, University of Turku
Kamila Szczepanska, University lecturer, University of Turku
Monique Taylor, Senior Researcher, University of Helsinki

Afternoon session 13:00-16:00

This session is financially supported by the Joel Toivola Foundation, that closes down in 2023 after successfully supporting Finnish China-research during a period of 20 years.
The session includes a short introduction to Joel Toivola’s career as the Ambassador of Finland to Beijing from 1961 to 1967, by Mr Mikko Eskola, representative of the Joel Toivola Foundation.

Presentations on China’s foreign policy (topics to be confirmed)
Una Aleksandra Berzina-Cerenkova, Head of Riga Stradins University China Studies Centre, Head of the Asia program at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, and a member of the European Think tank Network on China.
Jyrki Kallio, Senior Research Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Liisa Kauppila, Senior Researcher, University of Turku