John SEAMAN
Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies
Research Interests:
- Chinese energy and raw materials policy
- Geopolitics of Asia (esp. energy, natural resources)
- U.S.-China and Europe-China relations
- U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific
- Chinese industrial strategy and foreign policy
- Political economy of East Asia
- Critical raw materials (esp. Rare Earth Elements)
John Seaman joined Ifri in 2009, where he specializes in the geopolitics and political economy of energy and natural resources in Asia, with a focus on China and Japan. He also conducts research on China's industrial strategy and foreign policy, the U.S. strategy and policy in East Asia, Europe-China relations, international relations and geopolitics in East Asia, and the political economy of critical raw materials (incl. rare earth elements).
Mr. Seaman holds a Master in International Affairs - International Security 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). In the summer of 2011 and 2013 he was a visiting researcher with the Energy and Environment Program of the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) in Tokyo, Japan and was an International Research Fellow with CIGS until 2018. He has spent a number of years studying and working in both China and Japan.
How Can Europe Shift from Back Foot to Front Foot?
China increasingly sees its flagship foreign policy project as a tool for restructuring global governance and a vector for promoting a new form of globalization.
China’s dominance in the production of rare earth elements symbolizes the competition for once obscure sets of mineral resources in our increasingly digital, low carbon world.
What role do political values play in Europe-China relations 70 years after the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
The Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum announced by the United States in March would, if applied, have little direct impact on the French economy, but rather point toward a broader trend of protectionism and economic nationalism and a widening gap in transatlantic relations that is...
Chinese investments in Europe have surged in recent years, becoming both a source of hope and growing concern across the continent.
France’s current presidential campaign has created an unprecedented situation fuelled by revelations and a total absence of restraint, but it has not truly taken account of the disruptions of the last year: Brexit, the attempted coup in Turkey, the election of Donald Trump, the recapturing of...
More than three years have already passed since China’s new silk roads were launched by President Xi Jinping. When he first mentioned the idea in an autumn 2013 speech in Kazakhstan, questions quickly emerged on the meaning of this general concept, which soon became widely promoted through a...
As China elaborates on the design of its "Belt and Road Initiative" (OBOR), the place of Europe within this project is slowly but surely taking shape.
What will become of US foreign policy under Donald Trump? A selection of Ifri researchers has come together to offer their thoughts on this question. Our experts cover an array of topics through 14 contributions, ranging from the future Sino-American relations, through US engagement in the...
Sur le marché des terres rares, dont le chiffre d'affaires annuel avoisine 4 milliards de dollars (3,2 milliards d'euros), pour une production de 130 000 tonnes, la Chine détient aujourd'hui un quasi-monopole. Ces matériaux sont cruciaux pour les secteurs de pointe,...
L'Organisation mondiale du commerce met en place un groupe de concertation pour régler le différend qui oppose la Chine à un front constitué des États-Unis, du Japon et de l'Union européenne sur la question des terres rares. Pékin est accusé d'imposer des quotas et des...
Face à l'envolée des prix et à une demande mondiale croissante en terres rares, comment les pays occidentaux peuvent-ils contrecarrer la Chine, leader incontesté sur le marché?
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Terres rares : le monopole chinois pourrait asphyxier les hautes technologies occidentales Atlantico
Le Japon, les Etats-Unis et l'Union européenne ont porté plainte mardi contre la Chine devant l'OMC. En cause, les nouveaux quotas à l'export des terres rares de Pékin. L'inquiétude des plaignants est légitime : ces ressources, produites à plus de 90% par la Chine, sont...
Les Etats-Unis, l'Union européenne et le Japon ont porté plainte, mardi 13 mars, contre la Chine auprès de l'Organisation mondiale du Commerce (OMC) pour ses pratiques "déloyales" sur les exportations de métaux appelés "terres rares".
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Les Etats-Unis, l'Union européenne et le Japon attaquent la Chine devant l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), l'accusant de restreindre les exportations de «terres rares». Ces métaux, indispensables aux produits de haute technologie, sont un enjeu économique et...
Les «terres rares», dix-sept minerais indispensables à la fabrication de nos téléphones portables ou de nos écrans plats, que l'on exploite au fin fond de la Chine dans des conditions dignes de Germinal. Plongée dans un monde interdit, très loin de celui de la...
En cette période festive et faste, alors que les gadgets dernier cri se vendent comme des petits pains, le sujet des terres rares revient sur la table.
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China wants to use its monopoly over global rare earth supplies to win the race for clean energy technology that depends on the metals, but it is a strategy that could backfire, costing Beijing its advantage.