Director of the Manchester China Institute interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland
10 April 2018
Professor Peter Gries, Director of the Manchester China Institute, was interviewed by BBC Radio Scotland on China's relations with the West.
On Saturday 31st March the Director of the Manchester China Institute was hosted by Good Morning Scotland on BBC Radio Scotland to talk about the status of China's relations with the West.
Given the recent constitutional reforms put forward by President Xi, there is a question of whether the West has fundamentally misunderstood China thinking that opening up its economy would have led to a more liberal and democratic political structure.
"This is a good example of the extent of misunderstanding in China's relations with the West" said Professor Gries. "Clearly there was an expectation that as China opened up economically [...] the politics would follow". But that hasn't been the case.
The interview explored also the increasing role that China is playing in the global innovation landscape, the US-China threatened trade war and the intellectual property protection issue that has allegedly triggered it.
"There is simply too much misunderstanding [between China and the West - Ed.], contributing to mistrust. And this is the reason why the Manchester China Institute takes as its mission promoting mutual understanding in UK-China relations" said Peter Gries.
Listen to the full interview on the BBC website.