Diego Telias is currently a PhD candidate in Political Science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, academic collaborator of the Centre for Asian Studies at the same university, and editorial assistant of the Revista de Ciencia Política. He is also an Associate Researcher of the Millennium Nucleus on the Impacts of China in Latin America (ICLAC); and a professor and deputy coordinator of the BA in International Studies at Universidad ORT Uruguay. His areas of interest are foreign policy analysis and Latin America-East Asia relations.

LAWN-EASG Talk: This talk explores the complex dynamics arising from the ascent of China and how countries, whether neighboring states or middle powers, position themselves toward this great power. Why have certain governments imposed bans on Chinese companies in 5G bidding processes while others have refrained from such actions? Or why do countries adopt contrasting positions when faced with allegations of human rights violations in Xinjiang? This investigation compares two pairs of countries from different regions (Chile - Uruguay in Latin America and the Czech Republic - Hungary in Central Europe) and through an in-depth analysis of official documents and 120 interviews, analyses if economic leverage, a crucial factor mentioned in the literature, is the main explanation that influences those positions.