Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Maxwell Professor Contributes to Wilson Center Report on China’s Foreign Economic Policy

Thursday, November 30, 2023, By News Staff
Share
facultyMaxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
studio portrait of Daniel McDowell

Daniel McDowell

Daniel McDowell, associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has published an essay exploring the implications of Chinese bank expansion abroad in the 2022-23 Wilson China Fellowship Report “Understanding China Amid Change and Competition.”

In his piece, “Lending Tree: The Motives Behind and Implications of Chinese Bank Branch Growth in Foreign Markets,” McDowell shares what may result from the massive growth of China’s four largest banks in recent years. One potential consequence, he says, is the diminished ability by the U.S. government to leverage financial sanctions on China as a bargaining tool.

McDowell also explores the links between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and branch locations while considering how branch presence may affect the use of China’s currency in cross-border trade settlement. The BRI is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013.

“Chinese investment in infrastructure and related development ventures in a foreign market relies heavily on Chinese firms, especially state-owned enterprises (SOEs), to execute the projects. Foreign activity of Chinese SOEs, then, generates the need for financial services between the mainland and overseas investment locations, which should provide incentives for major Chinese banks—which operate as financial arms of the state—to expand into these same foreign markets,” McDowell says in the essay.

He adds, “In the medium-term, the presence of Chinese branches in these markets could facilitate deeper ties between host-country businesses and China. More importantly for U.S. interests, these branches could help facilitate cross-border payments in China’s currency, the renminbi, diminishing the dollar’s role in these markets and weakening Washington’s capacity to use financial sanctions as a coercive tool.”

The Wilson Center selected McDowell last year for a 2022-23 Wilson China Fellowship. The China-focused non-residential fellowship is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Wilson Center is chartered by Congress as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson, and is a nonpartisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue.

Story by Michael Kelly

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • WISE Women’s Business Center Awarded Grant From Empire State Development, Celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Dawn McWilliams
  • Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By News Staff
  • Paulo De Miranda G’00 Received ‘Much More Than a Formal Education’ From Maxwell
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Law Professor Receives 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Robert Conrad

More In Media, Law & Policy

Professor Nina Kohn Serves as Reporter for Two Uniform Acts

College of Law Distinguished Professor Nina Kohn is helping to create “gold standard” legislation on some of the most important issues facing older adults and individuals with cognitive disabilities. Based on her legal expertise, including in the area of elder…

250 Years Later, Declaration of Independence Still Challenges, Inspires a Nation: A Conversation With Professor Carol Faulkner

In June 1776, from a rented room in Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson penned the first draft of the document that would forge a nation. The stakes were high, amidst the ongoing war with the British, to find the right words to…

Philanthropy Driven by Passion, Potential and Purpose

Ken Pontarelli ’92 credits the University for changing his life, opening up opportunities to pursue his passions and achieve professional success that allows him to focus on the public good. In return, he and his wife, Tracey, are paying it…

First-Year Law Student to First-Year Dean: Lau Combines Law and Business to Continue College of Law’s Upward Trajectory

Three decades ago, Terence J. Lau L’98 walked the corridors as an eager student in the College of Law, then located in White Hall. He knew he had been given a rare chance—and a full scholarship—to be a part of…

Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19 Share a Love of Sportscasting and Storytelling (Podcast)

There’s a new father-son sportscasting team on the national scene, one with a decidedly Orange background: Ian ’90 and Noah Eagle ’19. Ian finished his second year as the lead announcer for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and has crafted…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.