UCLA Law Prof. Alex Wang visits Amsterdam and The Hague

Benjamin van Rooij, Shiming Yang and Alex Wang at cultural centre Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam

Last week, our affiliated faculty Prof. Alex Wang visited us for three events hosted by the Leiden Asia Centre, the University of Amsterdam's interdisciplinary institute SEVEN, and cultural debate centre Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam.

A huge thank you to China experts Prof. Shiming Yang, University Lecturer in Global Political Economy of China at Leiden University, Prof. Benjamin van Rooij, Professor of Law and Society at the University of Amsterdam, and Prof. Rogier Creemers, Lecturer in Modern Chinese Studies, for joining and enriching the conversation with their expertise.

The discussions centred on the themes of Alex's newly published book Chinese Global Environmentalism (Cambridge University Press, 2026) — exploring how China has shifted from being seen as an environmental laggard to making its green ambitions a pillar of global power, and what that means for international governance, geopolitics, and development cooperation.

Both university sessions were thought-provoking, with excellent questions from attendees. At Pakhuis de Zwijger, a full and diverse room made for a wonderful evening — and thanks to the beautiful weather, the discussions spilled out onto the terrace long after.

A special thank you to Kimmy McDonald and the entire Pakhuis de Zwijger team for the seamless hosting and for creating such a welcoming space for these conversations.

Chinese Global Environmentalism is available at Cambridge.org