Mareike Ohlberg

Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Program
Berlin Office
Indo-Pacific Program
GMF Expert
My Areas of Expertise:
Authoritarian Interference Cities and Regions Disinformation Technology and Democracy
China

Mareike Ohlberg is a senior fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program and leads the Stockholm China Forum. She is based at GMF’s Berlin Office. Before joining GMF, Mareike worked as an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, where she focused on China’s media and digital policies as well as the Chinese Communist Party’s influence campaigns in Europe. Prior to that, she was an An Wang postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and a postdoctoral fellow at Shih-Hsin University in Taipei. She spent several years living and working in Greater China. She is co-author of the book Hidden Hand: How the Communist Party of China is Reshaping the World (2020). Mareike has a doctoral degree in Chinese studies from the University of Heidelberg and a master’s degree in East Asian regional studies from Columbia University. She is a frequent commentator in the media on the global implications of China’s rise.

 

 

 

 

Media Mentions

by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ Though ostensibly a reaction to Pelosi’s visit, it is clear China’s exercises had been long planned. I do think they were looking for an opportunity to escalate. This is not something you prep after the announcement (of the visit) and then pull off that quickly and that easily. ”
AP News
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ China’s siding with Russia and blaming NATO is absolutely unacceptable for most of Central and Eastern Europe. The Chinese government doesn’t seem to understand, or doesn’t want to understand, that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is seen as an existential issue for most countries in the region. ”
The Diplomat
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ China’s siding with Russia and blaming NATO is absolutely unacceptable for most of Central and Eastern Europe. The Chinese government doesn’t seem to understand, or doesn’t want to understand, that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is seen as an existential issue for most countries in the region. ”
Euronews
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ It really shows that they now feel it’s their responsibility to defend China overseas and fight the public opinion war overseas. ”
Washington Post
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ A diplomatic boycott is, of course, a symbolic act. Ultimately, it is about the external effect. How China presents itself. And that is why it is important to the Chinese government that the Olympic Games are not overshadowed by such a diplomatic boycott. ”
Translated from German
Tagesschau
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ In previous years, the German government's China policy has already been determined in the Chancellor's Office. The Chinese leadership will now rely on Baerbock and the Foreign Office to show restraint. ”
Translated from German
Der Tagesspiegel
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ The email’s wording and tone were decidedly more 'creepy and eerie' than reassuring... the attempt to portray a 'cutesy' Peng is as creepy as the purported email given its similarity in method to other 'proof of life' photos and videos to ascertain the wellbeing of persecuted individuals like Uyghurs and dissidents. ”
Quartz
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ Messages like these are meant as a demonstration of power: ‘We are telling you that she is fine, and who are you to say otherwise?’ It’s not meant to convince people but to intimidate and demonstrate the power of the state. ”
New York Times
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ While the CGTN letter appeared clumsy and even sinister to many observers, it was not necessarily intended to convince anyone. Rather, messages like these are meant as a demonstration of power: ‘We are telling you that she is fine, and who are you to say otherwise?’ It’s not meant to convince people but to intimidate and demonstrate the power of the state. ”
The Global and Mail
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ Messages like these are meant as a demonstration of power. It’s not meant to convince people, but to intimidate and demonstrate the power of the state. ”
Bloomberg
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ What's new about the strategy, is above all an adaptation to the new media with their new channels and their new formats. ”
Deutsche Welle
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ Beijing has no interest in cutting ties overnight, but the gradual aim is to become less dependent on foreign countries while keeping them partly reliant on the Chinese market. Germany would be well served by recognizing that and acting accordingly. ”
Bloomberg
by
Mareike Ohlberg
“ I do think in 2019 [following unrest in Hong Kong] there were already decisions made to take some more radical steps towards saying, ‘OK, fine, we've lost the public on this one and now we need to re-establish control in a very radical manner.’ ”
U.S. News

Featured Work