John SEAMAN
Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies
Research Interests:
- Chinese energy and raw materials policy
- Geopolitics and political economy of Asia
- U.S.-China and Europe-China relations
- Geopolitics of the energy and digital transitions
- Chinese industrial strategy and foreign policy
- Critical raw materials (esp. Rare Earth Elements)
- Technical standardization
John Seaman specializes in the geopolitics and political economy of East Asia and on China’s relations with Europe and the United States. He also conducts research on China's industrial strategy and foreign policy, the geopolitics of the energy and digital transitions, and the political economy of critical raw materials.
Mr. Seaman joined Ifri in 2009. He holds a Master in International Affairs from Sciences Po, Paris, a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics from Seattle University, and studied as a NSEP David L. Boren Scholar at the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies (2002-03). He was an International Research Fellow with Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) in Tokyo (2013-18).
While there is now new momentum in the relationship between Europe and China, considerable variation remains in approaches across the continent, from clear-cut strategies to more ambiguous policies, complicating a common European position.
China’s recent announcement of raw material export controls highlights important pitfalls of weaponized interdependence and demonstrates that not all chokepoints are created equal.
As French President Emmanuel Macron (accompanied by Ursula von der Leyen) is on a state visit to China, some twenty Ifri researchers decipher the stakes of the U.S./China/Europe strategic triangle.
The idea that Europe has grown dependent on China is now a common refrain, but just how is this notion understood in capitals across the continent?
An era of hyper globalization is giving way to an age of geoeconomics wherein China seeks a decisive seat at the table.
In recent years, the People's Republic of China's policy towards Taiwan has become increasingly aggressive.
Analysis from 17 countries and EU institutions reveals that Chinese soft power in Europe – defined as the ability to influence preferences through attraction or persuasion – has seen better days.
As international relations are increasingly reorganized around the US-China rivalry, the tensions between these two great powers are shaping a growing number of sectors, and the exchange of sensitive technologies in particular. This is a critical issue for European companies today. <...>
Xi Jinping’s announcement of carbon neutrality is impeccably timed, but the hard part lies ahead.
Analysis from 19 countries reveals the complexities of Europe’s relations with China amid the Covid-19 crisis.
Annual conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies. The war in Ukraine has marked the return of high-intensity conflict in Europe and represents a profound, structural shift in the region’s strategic environment. It also takes place against a backdrop of a decades-long...
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France on May 4 is his fifth since 2015, and the 10th such high-level bilateral visit.
The rise of the so-called ‘wolf warriors’ heralds a more aggressive approach to promoting the country’s official line. Analysts warn this is likely to harm the country’s image even if their careers benefit as a result.
Critics fear Germany could put European unity on the line. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to avoid tripping over Hong Kong and stepping on Germany’s car industry. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to...
China believes its near-monopoly gives it leverage over the US but supply cuts would spur rival producers.
Growing tensions between China and the United States over the escalating trade dispute – and the resulting global uncertainty – are forcing other countries to choose between the two economic superpowers.
Mapping Europe-China Relations: A bottom-up approach -- a recent report of the European Think-tank Network on China (
John Seaman answers questions from the China Daily on the recently concluded negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and their consequences for China and for Europe.
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While China may be setting the bar high for itself in it's commitments for the COP21 climate negotiations this December, these ultimately serve to foster necessary progress on environmental issues and economic...
L'empire du Milieu est-il sur le point de relâcher la pression sur le marché stratégique des terres rares ? C'est ce que pourrait laisser penser l'annonce du gouvernement chinois, mercredi 22 août, d'augmenter ses quotas d'exportation de ces dix-sept métaux indispensables...