Interview: Pragmatic China and Multilateral Organisations

Interview: Pragmatic China and Multilateral Organisations

From Asia Rising by La Trobe Asia

May 30, 2026 · 26 min

About this episode

The episode discusses China's multilateral initiatives and their implications for the international order with Dr. Joel Ng.

Over the past decade, China has launched a remarkable number of multilateral initiatives — from the Belt and Road to BRICS to a suite of so-called Global Initiatives covering development, security, and civilisation. Western analysts have tended to read these as evidence of a Chinese project to displace the existing international order. Guest: Dr Joel Ng (Senior Fellow and Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore) Book: The Dragon’s Emerging Order: Sinocentric Multilateralism and Global Responses Recorded on 27th March, 2026.

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Joel Ng

Topics covered

  • China
  • multilateral initiatives
  • international order
  • Belt and Road
  • BRICS
  • global governance

Keywords

  • China
  • multilateralism
  • Belt and Road
  • BRICS
  • global initiatives
  • international relations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

Books & works: The Dragon’s Emerging Order

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