Ruben Gonzalez-Vicente, BA, BA, MPhil

PhD Candidate

Ruben's research studies the internationalization of China's mining industries and the Chinese state, as well as the developmental impact of Chinese mining investment in South America.

Biography

Qualifications

PhD Student, Department of Geography, St. John's College, University of Cambridge, 2009 - present.
MPhil Asian and International Studies, City University of Hong Kong, 2009.
BA East Asian Studies, Autonomous University of Madrid, 2007.
Diploma in Chinese Language, Peking University, 2007.
BA English Philology, Universidade da Coruña, 2005.

Funding and awards (selection)

Pedro Barrie de la Maza Foundation's Fellowship for PhD Studies in Europe, 2011 - present
Caja Madrid Foundation Fellowship, 2009-11.
University of Cambridge, Department of Geography's Philip Lake Fund, 2010
University of Cambridge, Department of Geography's William Vaughan Lewis Fund, 2010.
Hong Kong Political Science Association 2009 Best Graduate Thesis Award, 2010.
Universities' China Committee in London Grant for Research in China, 2010
Honorary Cambridge European Trust Scholar, 2009.
Outstanding Research Thesis Award, City University of Hong Kong, 2009.
Outstanding Academic Performance Award, City University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Research Tuition Scholarship, City University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Research Activities Fund, City University of Hong Kong, 2008.
AIS Department Research Expenses Grant, City University of Hong Kong, 2008.
MPhil Studentship, City University of Hong Kong, 2007.
Spanish Institute of Official Credit's Asian Pacific Scholarship, 2006.

External research positions

Chinese University of Hong Kong. Visiting Research Student (November and December 2011)
CIUP - University of the Pacific Research Centre (Peru). Visiting Researcher (March to November, 2011; September and October, 2008)
City University of Hong Kong, Department of Asian and International Studies. Visiting Researcher (March and April 2010)
FLACSO Ecuador (Latin American Institute of Social Sciences). Visiting Researcher (August and September 2008).

Research

China's central government initiated its "Go Out" strategy in the early 2000s. This encouraged and financially supported China's major state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to invest abroad, particularly in extractive industries, due to the country's surging energy and mineral resources demand. Concurrently, other Chinese SOEs and private firms within the mining sector expanded internationally in search for national and global competitiveness. South America, a region in which resources have historically played an important role in processes of (under)development, became a preferential target for Chinese extractive firms. The focus of my work is at this collision between China's processes of internationalization and South America's complex interactions between resources and development.

My research addresses the patterns and politics of Chinese mining investment. It also examines the ways in which China's industrial and foreign policies, as well as the particular backgrounds of individual Chinese firms, affect their performances in South America and the developmental outcomes of their operations. I explore issues such as resource exploitation and sovereignty, and mining and livelihoods. I am interested as well in the ways in which China's international expansion challenges assumptions of resource "curses" and reshapes patterns of dependency.

Publications

Articles in Refereed Journals

Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (accepted) 'Development dynamics of Chinese resource-based investment in Peru and Ecuador', Latin American Politics and Society.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (accepted) 'The political economy of Sino-Peruvian relations: A new dependency?', Journal of Current Chinese Affairs.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (in press) 'Mapping Chinese mining investment in Latin America: Politics or market?', The China Quarterly 209.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (2011) 'The internationalization of the Chinese state', Political Geography 30(7): 402-411.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (2011) 'China's engagement in South America and Africa's extractive sectors: New perspectives for resource curse theories', The Pacific Review 24(1): 65-87.

Conference Papers

Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (February 2012) 'Postcolonial geopolitics: The Hong Kong Basic Law and the post-Westphalian international order'. Paper to be presented at the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2012, New York.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (April 2011) 'Mapping Chinese mining investment with a focus on Latin America: Politics or market?'. Paper presented at The China Quarterly's Workshop - From the Great Wall to the New World: China and Latin America in the 21st Century. University of California, Los Angeles, Asia Institute.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (March 2011) 'The political economy of Sino-Peruvian relations: A new dependency?'. Paper presented at the China in the Western Hemisphere Research Group Workshop. University of Toronto, Munk School of Global Affairs.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (September 2010) 'The limits to and opportunities for economic growth and development through resource nationalism: Insights from Latin America'. Invited by the South African Mining Development Association, South African Department of Mineral Resources and KIO Advisory Services. Paper presented at the Mining for Change - A Roadmap to Development and Sustainable Growth Conference, Johannesburg.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (August 2010) 'The fragmented internationalization of the Chinese state'. Paper presented at the Hong Kong Political Science's Association Conference: Politics in Flux: Challenges and Opportunities in the Asian Century.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (June 2010) 'Contextualizing and disaggregating Chinese investment in South America's extractive industries: A developmental perspective'. Paper presented at the PILAS Annual Conference: Whose Latin America? Shifting Perspectives on a Diverse Region, University of Manchester.
Gonzalez-Vicente, R. (August 2009) 'Development and engagement in South America's resource sector: Is China replicating the African experience?'. Paper presented at the Hong Kong Political Science Association's Conference: Inside/Outside: 60 Years of Chinese Politics.

Teaching

Teaching Assistant, International Organizations, City University of Hong Kong, Department of AIS, 2008-09.
Teaching Assistant, Globalization and International Trade, City University of Hong Kong, Department of AIS, 2008-09.
Guest Lecturer, Master of Social Sciences in Development Studies, City University of Hong Kong, 2009.
Teaching Assistant, International Political Economy, City University of Hong Kong, Department of AIS, 2007.
English Teacher, Wanli International Middle School, 2005-06.
Teaching Assistant, Spanish Language Courses, Tufts University, 2004-05.