Maria Adele Carrai

Maria Adele Carrai is an Assistant Professor of Global China Studies at NYU Shanghai and an Adjunct Associate Research Scholar at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University. Previously, she was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance at KU Leuven School of Law and a Fellow at Harvard University Asia Center.

Her research focuses on legal history, conceptual history, international relations, China's foreign policy, US-China relations, China-EU relations, law and development, and foreign direct investments. Carrai examines how Chinese intellectuals and political figures have appropriated and articulated the notion of sovereignty within international law from 1840 to the present.

Carrai's publications reveal a strong focus on China's engagement with international law, sovereignty concepts, and the Belt and Road Initiative. Her work spans historical analysis of Chinese legal thought to contemporary examinations of China's economic diplomacy and infrastructure investments. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has edited significant volumes on global governance and the Belt and Road Initiative.

• Swire Scholar at University of Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Government PhD Fellowship recipient
• Award for Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student for 2015-16
• Marie Curie Fellowship

Carrai has advised numerous research projects related to China's international legal engagements and has conducted fieldwork in Europe and Eastern Africa on Chinese investments. Her collaborative work includes editing the volume 'The Belt and Road Initiative and Global Governance' with Jan Wouters and Jean-Christophe DeFraigne. She maintains active research collaborations with institutions across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

Carrai leads research on China's conceptual engagement with international law and its implications for global governance structures. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary policy concerns, particularly regarding China's growing role in international institutions and norm-setting processes.