Ching Kwan (C.K.) LEE

Ching Kwan (C.K.) LEE
Research Departments・Position
Global Humanosphere
Guest Scholar
Area
Political Sociology, Labor, Development, Global China and Global South
Research Interests / Keywords
Renewable Technology Supply Chains, Developmental State, China in SE Asia
Period
2025/09/18
2026/06/13
Affiliation
University of California-Los Angeles, California, United States
Contact
cklee@soc.ucla.edu

Ching Kwan (C.K.) LEE

Chinese Investments in Southeast Asia's Green Technology Supply Chains

Having published "The Specter of Global China", a monograph on Chinese state investment in copper and construction in Africa, I would like to use my time at CSEAS to explore a new project on China's role in Southeast Asia's green transition. I am particularly interested in the competition and collaboration between Chinese and Southeast Asian actors in the creation of green technology supply chains – from the mining and processing of critical minerals to the construction of green energy infrastructure and manufacturing of clean energy products such as batteries and electric vehicles. My focus will be on the political-economic relations among states, corporations, and labor in shaping the evolving renewable technology supply chains, which, to many, define a new paradigm for economic development. I hope to identify which country in the region is the most paradigmatic and theoretically significant for understanding China's role in this arena, and why. The larger project will include two additional cases drawn respectively from Africa and Latin America. The research expertise of those at CSEAS will be a tremendous resource for me at this early stage of exploration.