China's Digital Silk Road and Undersea Cables: Prospects and Threats Posed to the EU

Speakers

• Filipe Batista, Digital Attaché, Permanent Representation of Portugal to the EU
• Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow, Clingendael Institute  
• Rebecca Arcesati, Analyst, Merics

Moderator

• Lindsay Gorman, Emerging Technologies Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States 

The Digital Silk Road is the portion of the Belt and Road Initiative focused on enhancing digital connectivity and furthering China's ascendance as a technological power. Through the digital silk road, China seeks to become a world leader in providing physical infrastructure in the digital sphere, exemplified by the Chinese government plans to invest heavily in undersea cables. Yet, the meteoric rise of Chinese companies in submarine cable ownership and construction could promote the country’s technical standards and enhance its security at the expense of other nations.

Against this backdrop, in September 2020 the EU Commission presented its 2030 Digital Targets in order to set out a vision for a successful European digital transformation. Now the Portuguese presidency of the European Council is pushing for a pan-European investment plan to roll out a network of undersea cables and to upgrade the continent's digital infrastructure. The plan aims to map how data flows in and out of Europe and to propose a strategy for security and dependency risks, enhancing European digital autonomy. How can the proposal address main vulnerabilities in the EU digital strategy? How can Europe avoid high-risk suppliers undermining European security? Is China set to become an indispensable actor in this sphere and impose its tech standards?

If you have any questions, please contact Alberto Tagliapietra at [email protected].