Ardi Bouwers portrait photo
China

Ardi Bouwers

Ardi Bouwers is a sinologist and strategist focused on Chinese geopolitics, media and influence. As the founder of China Circle, she advises government and industry on China-related communication and decision-making. She lectures at the University of Amsterdam and has taught journalism and international communication at universities in China. Ardi previously worked for many years in journalism, serving as editor-in-chief of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, and is a regular media commentator in the Netherlands.

Research interests

  • Chinese (geo)politics
  • Media
  • Propaganda

About Ardi Bouwers

Ardi Bouwers is a sinologist and keynote speaker about Chinese (geo)politics, media and propaganda. She is the founder of strategic consultancy agency China Circle. At the University of Amsterdam, she lectures about China’s Ambitions in the 21st Century. She has also taught courses in Journalism and International Communication at Jinan University in Guangzhou and provided summer courses at Xiamen University.

For the Leiden Asia Centre she conducted research on Chinese Influence and Interference in the Dutch Media Landscape (commissioned by the Dutch China Knowledge Network) in collaboration with Susanne Kamerling. Another contribution to the Leiden Asia Centre was the report The China Challenge, which covers the politicisation of doing business with China, together with Alex Krijger.

She is the autor of Cirkels en Rechte Lijnen, a book about intercultural communication between Dutch and Chinese people, and has taught numerous courses and workshops for the Dutch government, (international) businesses and higher education.

Ardi regularly appears in Dutch media and has previously managed several language editors, i.a. Chinese, Indonesian and Arabic, as an editor-in-chief of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep.

Publications & projects