Dr. Lai Suetyi is an Associate Professor of Centre for European Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and since 2025 also a Jean Monnet Chair. Her research interests include EU politics, Asia-Europe relations and China-Europe relations. She has published some forty journal articles and book chapters on these topics.
Since 2006, Dr. Lai has been a researcher of “EU in the eyes of Asia” and “Asia Through the eyes of Europe”, published numerous research papers on the external image of the EU, Asia-Europe relations, China-EU relations and ASEM. Dr. Lai finished her doctoral studies in National Centre for Research on Europe, University of Canterbury, in 2012. Her Ph.D thesis focused on the contribution of the ASEM process to Asia-Europe relations, regionalism and inter-regionalism. After graduation, she took post-doctoral fellowships in Monash University (Australia), Peking University (China), and Tsinghua University (China). She joined Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in 2017 to further develop her teaching and research on European Studies. She received and completed Erasmus+ grants namely “New Phase of EU-China relation for 2020-2030” (EUC2030, 620652-EPP-1-2020-1-CN-EPPJMO-PROJECT) and “EUIP: What role for Europe in the Indo-Pacific? Identifying regional policy responses towards the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy 2022-2025” (101085570).
Dr. Lai is the grant holder and coordinator of this JM Chair “Teaching EU in a Geo-political World”, she leads the implementation of the whole project, teaching four courses of the six in this JM Chair programmes. Overall responsibility for project management is also held by Dr Lai.
Dr. Zhang Huan is a Greek language teacher in School of Global and Area Studies at GDUFS. She is currently finishing her doctoral studies in Cross-cultural Studies. Her research explores the cultural and social dimensions of Greece, particularly Greece’s cultural diplomacy and heritage preservation, and post-crisis societal transformations. She has published several book chapters on the above topics.
Dr. Zhang is a key member of EUinGeoPolitics, who establishes the course “Political systems in Greece and EU” and teaches for 3 years from the 2025-2026 academic year. She also assists in organising the drawing contest for Chinese pupils and in preparing the newsletter series.
Dr. Zhang Jian is a researcher of Centre for European Studies, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. He is also an editor of the academic journal "Journal of Strategy and Decision-making ". He obtained his doctoral degree in European studies in 2021. His research and publications focus on European economy and global economic governance. He has participated in multiple major China national-level research projects and acquired rich experience in questionnaire surveys and project management.
For EUinGeoPolitics, Dr. Zhang revises and teaches jointly with Dr. Wu Han the course “International Economy” to add content about European integration and EU geo-economic issues. He also assists in organising the Jean Monnet Chair seminar and in preparing the newsletter series.
Asso.Prof. Wu Han has joined Guangdong University of Foreign Studies since 2021 to teach and research economics in Guangdong Institute for International Strategies. She obtained her Ph.D. in Economics at Jinan University of Guangzhou, China, and was a visiting research scholar at ETH Zurich in 2020. Her research focuses on applied and theoretical international and regional economics including foreign demand shocks, multi-product firms, trade wars, and trade inequality. Her research work has been published in prestigious economic journals namely European Economic Review and Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organisation. She has hosted and participated in multiple China national-level research projects.
For EUinGeoPolitics, Asso.Prof. Wu revises and teaches jointly with Dr. Zhang Jian the course “International Economy” to add content about European integration and EU geo-economic issues. She also participates in Jean Monnet Chair seminar and quality-control meetings of the project.
Professor Martin Holland, holds a Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, is Director of both the National Centre for Research on Europe at the University of Canterbury and of European Union Centres Network in New Zealand. He is the author of twenty-five authored or edited books and internationally recognised for his work on EU Development Policy, Common Foreign and Security Policy and as well as Perceptions of the EU. He has received a number of notable awards including: a European University Institute Jean Monnet Fellowship; Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship; Rockerfeller Bellagio Fellowship; and a Bene Merito award from the Polish Foreign Ministry. His research interests include EU development policy, EU relations with the Pacific, EU relations with New Zealand/Australia, ASEM, CFSP (theory & case studies), integration theory, good governance & conditionality, EU diplomatic service and EU identity in the Asia-Pacific region.
For EUinGeoPolitics, Prof. Holland serves as advisor and supervisor. His experience and expertise about EU Studies and Erasmus+ actions anchored this new Jean Monnet Chair project.
Asso. Prof. Song Weiqing teaches and researches in Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Macau. He has also been Jean Monnet Chair in EU Foreign Policy and had headed the Department of Government and Public Administration at University of Macau. His research focuses on Chinese foreign policy, European politics, Sino-European relations, Critical geopolitics, and post-colonial studies. He has published some forty journal articles and book chapters on these topics. He has published several books on various topics of Chinese foreign policy, European Union foreign policy, and Sino-European relations, with Manchester University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, and Routledge.
For EUinGeoPolitics, Asso. Prof. Song advises and supervises the design and teaching of the courses in the project. He will also contributes to the JM seminar and newsletters.
Prof. Xu Lihe is Deputy-director and Professor of Institute of Studies for the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies. She joined Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in 2018. Before moving to Guangzhou, she taught and research for Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, in which she obtained her master and doctoral degrees from. In both universities, Prof. Xu teaches undergraduate and post-graduate courses, they include Principle of Micro-Economics, International Finance, Corporate Finance, Field Experiment of Economics as well as Fortier Topics of International Trade and Economics, Micro-Economics.
Prof. Xu’s research focuses on Development Economics; Aid and Economics Development; Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Rural Finance, and China economic issues. She has published some twenty academic articles on these topics. She published these empirical research works in English and Chinese, with high-quality scholar journals such as European Economic Review, China Economic Review and Journal of Family and Economic Issues.
For EUinGeoPolitics, Prof. Xu lectures part of the Research Method course, conducts new research on geo-economic issues of the EU and shares the results in the newsletters and Jean Monnet paper series of the project.
As the IT Technical Officer, Nathan bridges the gap between complex academic research and modern digital tools. He oversees the technical health of our online presence and ensures that the team has the necessary digital infrastructure to thrive in a globalized research landscape. His expertise ensures that our digital communication remains efficient, secure, and accessible to the global community.
Nathan is responsible for the comprehensive management of the Chair’s digital ecosystem, including the maintenance and optimization of official web platforms and online resources. He provides essential technical oversight for hardware and software systems, ensuring data security and seamless network operations. Additionally, Nathan supports the team by implementing innovative collaborative tools and digital media solutions that enhance the dissemination of research findings and facilitate international scholarly exchange.
