Wong MNC Center Executive Director Blanchard gives public lecture on China's Maritime Silk Road Initiative and Southeast Asia

On May 26, 2017, Dr. Jean-Marc F. Blanchard, Executive Director of the Mr. & Mrs. S.H. Wong Center for the Study of Multinational Corporations (Wong MNC Center), spoke at a public seminar entitled “China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI): Implications for Southeast Asia and the World” that was initiated by the Wong MNC Center and co-sponsored with Stanford University’s Shorenstein APARC Southeast Asia program. At the public seminar, Dr. Blanchard gave background on China’s MSRI program, the challenges it faces, and discussed what insights three international relations and international business theory had to offer about the political implications of China’s scheme. He noted that all three theories he reviewed suggested that the MSRI initially would face little resistance and would augment China’s power to a moderate degree. However, over the long term, various dynamics suggested the power boost would be undercut.