Sovereign Debt: Crisis in Europe, Implications for China

ASIA FORUM with Liu Mingli

Institute of European Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)

Friday, October 29, 2010, 10:00-12:00

The lingering sovereign debt crisis in Europe is a sign that the world’s financial woes are far from over. And while the situation in Europe is particularly precarious almost all major developed countries are burdened with mounting debts, something that is expressed by the fact that G-7 sovereign debt levels as a proportion of GDP are nearing sixty-year highs.

As a result many studies are currently underway to gain insight into the causality of the European debt crisis. Germaine to this, sovereign debt ratio in many advanced economies, including the UK, the US and Japan, are much higher than the European average, leaving us to consider the following questions:

  • Comparatively on a global scale what are sovereign debt levels like?
  • How many countries are dealing with an extreme debt burden?
  • Why has the debt crisis been so crushing to certain European economies but not as severe in other developed countries?
  • Can the measures taken so far effectively resolve the debt crisis?
  • As the biggest emerging economy, how will the debt issue influence China?

Mr. Liu Mingli is an Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of European Studies of CICIR (China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations). Mr. Liu joined CICIR in 2004 following his graduation from Fudan University in Shanghai. His main research areas are European integration and economy and Sino-European relations. Since the beginning of 2010, he has been conducting research on the European debt crisis. Currently, Mr. Liu is a Guest Researcher at the Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP) in Stockholm, Sweden.

Location: ISDP, Västra Finnbodavägen 2, Stockholm-Nacka. For a map and directions, please go here.

To attend: RSVP to Ms. Martina Klimesova at mklimesova@isdp.eu