The Lancaster Defence and Security Dialogue (LDSD), led by the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University, is a unique occasion for discussion and debate among academics, public intellectuals, policymakers and members of the public on how the UK, as a European yet globally ambitious power, can navigate – especially at the defence level – the complex realities and risks of an increasingly interdependent world paradoxically marked by increasing geopolitical rivalry and divisions.

Following the success of the inaugural LDSD Public Forum in 2023, the event returns in 2024, featuring leading experts and academics discussing whether the new administrations in the UK, US and EU will develop a new approach to China.

The LDSD Public Forum 2024 will be held on Thursday 27 November, 17.30-19.00, at The Storey, Lancaster. It will be chaired by Professor Edward Simpson, Executive Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster University.

The UK has a new government in 10 Downing Street, the first Labour government in more than a decade and a half. The EU is challenged in establishing a new composition of the European Commission following European Parliament elections which consolidated both the far left and far right factions. And in January 2025 in the US President Trump will return to the White House.

Meanwhile, China’s economy is showing signs of slowdown while the PRC is increasingly interested in actively shaping the international order in the UN, in conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and beyond. Chinese technological development and adoption is progressing unabated and at an accelerated pace, threatening to make Beijing a global leader in AI, quantum and other emerging technologies by the end of this decade.

It is therefore timely and topical to discuss whether the new British, American and European leaders will have a new approach to China – or indeed, if a new approach to China is warranted. Will relations be marked by continuity and steady but increasing tension? Will they be more transactional and accommodating or more confrontational and ideological? What should be the top economic, political, technological and defence priorities of the new British government in engaging with China as well as with our European and American allies and partners in relation to the issue of China’s rise?

Joining Professor Simpson on the panel are:

· Dr Olivia Cheung, Research Fellow at the China Institute at SOAS, University of London

· Meia Nouwens MA, MPhil, Senior Fellow for Chinese Security and Defence Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies

· Dr William Matthews, Senior Research Fellow for China and the World in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House

· Dr Andrew Chubb, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University

Attendance is free, but registration is required via the following link: https://bit.ly/40xJcpV