EcoS Guest Lecture with Oliver Radtke

As geopolitical tensions rise and systemic rivalry reshapes the global landscape, the relationship between Europe and China demands a new intellectual ambition. This lecture argues that European institutions are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation—by cultivating a new kind of expertise capable not only of analysing China but also of navigating and shaping the ecosystems in which cooperation, competition, and global problem-solving now unfold.

At the centre of this argument stands the concept of institutional empathy: a strategic competence that enables scholars and practitioners to understand how institutions elsewhere think, decide, and evolve—without adopting their political horizons or compromising academic autonomy. It is a skill set that integrates analytical depth with diplomatic sensibility, contextual literacy, and the ability to debate rigorously while maintaining scientific integrity.

Drawing on twenty-five years of professional and academic engagement between China and Europe, the lecture outlines what it takes to become an interpreter of systems: someone who can move confidently between knowledge traditions, governance models, and disciplinary silos, translating complexity into actionable insight for research, policy, and education.

Oliver Radtke is a sinologist, author, and cross-cultural strategist with over twenty-five years of experience engaging with China. Educated in Germany, China, and the United States, he has dedicated his career to promoting understanding and cooperation between Europe and Asia across academic, civil society, and policy spheres. Previously, he led a Vienna-based think tank dedicated to strengthening dialogue between Europe and Asia. Before that, he served as Chief Representative of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Beijing and, for a decade, directed the China portfolio at the Robert Bosch Foundation in Stuttgart. Between 2019 and 2021, he also served as Secretary-General of the German-Chinese Dialogue Forum, the highest bilateral advisory body for civil society relations between the two countries.

Radtke currently holds several academic appointments. He is a Guest Professor at Shenzhen Technology University, where he teaches on sustainability and intercultural cooperation in Chinese, and a Guest Lecturer at Shanghai International Studies University, focusing on contemporary Europe-China relations. He is also a Research Fellow at the University of Vienna’s Department of East Asian Studies. Deeply committed to building sustainable bridges between systems, Radtke continues to work at the nexus of scholarship, diplomacy, and cultural interpretation. His passion lies in reimagining how Europe and Asia can engage with one another in a post-pandemic world marked by climate urgency, geopolitical complexity, and the need for renewed empathy across borders.

Date: December 15 (Monday), 2025, 17:00–18:00 (CET)
Venue: Sinology Conference Room, Entrance 2.3, Hof 2, Spitalgasse 2, 1090 Vienna