Secretary General
(Head of Internal Affairs)
Blanca Marabini San Martín is a research assistant at the Center for Oriental Asia Studies of the Madrid Autonomous University (CEAO – UAM), in Spain. Her research interests are centered around the climate and environmental dimensions of China’s foreign policy. She previously worked at the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies (Ministry of Defense of Spain) and the Spanish Chinese Policy Observatory, and is currently part of the New Silk Roads Project of the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS, Leiden). She holds a Double BA in International Relations and Translation and Interpreting, with a focus on Foreign Policy and Security, from Comillas Pontifical University (Spain) and an MSc in Political Science from Leiden University (The Netherlands).
President
(Head of External Affairs)
Lukian De Boni
Lukian De Boni works as a journalist for the Mainichi Shimbun's Brussels Office and is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA). He obtained his M.A. in Contemporary East Asian Studies from the University of Duisburg-Essen, and his B.A. in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
Chief Memberships Officer
(Deputy Secretary-General)
Valeria Fappani
Valeria is a PhD candidate at the School of International Studies of the University of Trento researching EU-China relations from a comparative law perspective. Her research interests include business due diligence and corporate social responsibility, micro-level analysis of Chinese laws and policies, and EU-China trade and FDI relations. She also has extensively participated in and engaged with youth-led initiatives about the EU, China and their relations.
Public Relations Officer
(Vice-President)
Miquel Salvadó-Gracia
Miquel Salvadó-Gracia holds a BA in Philosophy (University of Barcelona) specializing in ethics and political philosophy. He spent an Erasmus year abroad in Istanbul at Maltepe University. He was then awarded a grant to study a Masters in International Relations at Shandong University in Jinan, China. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the Alliance for Research on East Area in Germany. His academic journey has taken him to research stays and conferences in Indonesia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, the USA, and China.
Chief Operations Officer
(Deputy Secretary-General)
Suzanne Groenewoud
Suzanne holds a bachelor in European Studies and an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in European Politics and Society from Charles University, Leiden University, and Pompeu Fabra University. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in International Relations: Global Conflict in the Modern Era at Leiden University. Her interests are EU-China relations, Chinese foreign policy, and geopolitics of climate change.
Chief Fundraising Officer
(Vice-President)
Calvin Oliver
Calvin is currently situated in London, and graduated in philosophy, politics, and economics BA with honours from the University of Sussex. Alongside his position in European Guanxi, he has worked on behalf of the United Nations with the Global Waste Cleaning Network as a Senior Membership Officer whilst also holding a position as a member of the Royal Economics Society. Outside of European Guanxi, Calvin works in data modelling and design at an investment bank.
Our Executive Board
Oct 2022 - Oct 2023
Chief Communications Officer
(Head of the Communications Team)
Malvina Montini has a double bachelor's degree from Ca' Foscari University in Venice, where she graduated with honours in Chinese language and culture, and a Master of Arts in the Chinese language from Capital Normal University in Beijing. During that time, she spent two years in Beijing, China. She also has a double master's degree in China Studies, obtained with honours from the University of Turin and Zhejiang University. Currently she is working as a linguistic and cultural mediator for Chinese language, while she is an executive master student in “Leadership per le relazioni internazionali e il made in Italy” (full scholarship by Fondazione Italia Usa).
Chief Partnerships Officer
(Head of the Partnerships Team)
Ángel Gallego Marcos
Ángel Gallego Marcos is a public policy and regulatory consultant at Kreab Spain (Madrid office). He specialises in the financial sector and in monitoring the main trends in Chinese politics and economy. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law, a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and an LLM in Regulated Sectors from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M). He has also completed a Financial Markets Law specialisation programme at Instituto de Estudios Bursátiles (IEB). Prior to his current job, he has worked in the Military Legal Corps at the Spanish Ministry of Defence, and in the law firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo (London office).
Chief Events Officer
(Head of the Events Team)
Ardita Osmani
Ardita Osmani holds a master’s in Language, Economics, and the Institution of Asia and North Africa at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and a bachelor’s in Chinese language and culture at Ca’Foscari University of Venice. After living in China as an exchange student in Beijing and Nanjing, she worked as an assistant professor at a university and as a Chinese language teacher. Mainly focused on China’s domestic politics, she is also passionate about SDGs, Climate Change, Sociology, and Environmental Studies.
Treasurer
(Head of the Treasury Team)
Arndt Meissner
Born and raised in Germany, Arndt Meissner studied Business Administration in Goettingen. His passion for China and understanding the Chinese society started in 2015 when he participated in a school exchange with a school in Shanghai. He fell in love with the society and the culture and hence enrolled in a Double Degree Masters with Nanjing University. He currently works as a Management Consultant.
Editor in Chief
(Head of the Editorial Team)
Mark Godges
Mark Godges is graduating with a Master of Public Administration from Tsinghua University and a Master of Innovation Human Development and Sustainability from the University of Geneva. During his master's program he participated in the IAPSS Asia Conference in 2020 at the National University of Mongolia and received a Case Study Research Grant from China Case Center of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua for his thesis. Before graduate studies, he completed a bachelor's degree in Chinese and Human Rights from University of California, Davis. He is focused on US-UK-EU-China relations, the memory of the Global Antifascist War in Asia, and the evolution of dissent and reform in China.
Our Deputies
Memberships Officer
Giulia Busnardo
Giulia Busnardo is an Italian sinologist, passionate about oriental languages and cultures, graduated from both Ca' Foscari University in Venice and Capital Normal University in Beijing. After winning the 2022 America Youth Award and the 2022 CNU Best Alumni Award, she is currently pursuing a master's degree programme in Chinese Language at Ca’ Foscari University. In addition, she collaborates with several periodicals and blogs, including 紫竹留声报纸 (Zǐzhú liú shēng bàozhǐ) based in Beijing and European Guanxi. She has a very strong positive attitude and she’s always open to new challenges and opportunities not only to grow professionally but also personally.
Operations Officer
Virginia Galgani
Virginia is a MA graduate in Chinese Studies from SOAS University of London, specialising in the Chinese Creative Industry and EU-China relations. Her research mainly investigates the Chinese Music Industry and CCP propaganda, with a specific focus on music talent shows and the cultural policies implemented in Xinjiang. She is a part-time musician and currently performs with the SOAS Silk and Bamboo Ensemble around the UK, contributing to the transmission of traditional Chinese music. She also has a BA in East Asian studies from Sapienza University of Rome.
Deputy Editor in Chief
Tinkara Godec
Tinkara Godec holds a bachelor degree in International Relations from the University in Ljubljana and is currently finalizing her studies at the University of Vienna, MA East Asian Economy and Society. Her interests include digitalization, CESEE-China relations and EU-China relations. She has previously interned at Slovenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked as an Events Officer at Student Think Tank for Europe-Asia Relations (STEAR).
PR Officer
Joanna Nestoridi
Joanna is a PR Officer at European Guanxi
Deputy Treasurer
Charles Imperore
Charles holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Management at EM Lyon Business School. He has several associative experiences, both at university and at the national level in France. He is currently working in Asset Management in a global private management company. Having spent 10 years in China, he is particularly interested in Chinese language, economics, and culture. He wants to share his experience and promote intercultural dialogue between Europe and China.
Memberships Officer
Daniel Hernández Benito
Daniel Hernández Benito is an undergraduate student enrolled in the Dual Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and Law at Universidad Carlos III, in Madrid. He is currently based in Brussels during his Erasmus. Always passionate about history and languages, he started to learn Chinese a few years ago and later joined European Guanxi in 2020. Furthermore, he is a news junkie and follows political developments in the European Union closely, but wishes more attention was devoted to China.
Deputy Editor in Chief
Juan graduated from a MSc in International Politics at SOAS, London, having previously studied Law and Global Governance at ESADE, Barcelona. His interests lie in the area of the Transatlantic alliance, the emergence of China in a multipolar world, and the effects of climate change on international security. He has work experience in the USA and in Spain. He has published articles, covering a wide range of topics in the field of International Relations, in The National Interest, The Diplomat and Atalayar.com, among others.
PR Officer
Patrizia Cogo
Patrizia Cogo Morales is Project Manager and Research Assistant at the Elcano Royal Institute’s Office in Brussels, and Project Officer at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy of the Brussels School of Governance. She has worked at the EsadeGeo-Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics (in the team of Dr. Javier Solana), the European Institute of the Mediterranean, and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She holds a dual degree in Law and Global Governance from Esade, and a masters in International Relations, Security and Development from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, with exchange programmes in Jerusalem and New Delhi. She was also Lead Co-Founder and President of the European Guanxi network. She has contributed to South China Morning Post, The Diplomat, and China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe, inter alia.
Operations Officer
Samuel Dempsey
Samuel Dempsey has worked in the U.S. House of Representatives; U.S. Department of State; U.S. International Trade Administration; the Washington D.C.-based think tank Rise to Peace; the Swiss-based think-tank FOMOSO; the German Foreign Ministry-funded think tank CPG; Breathe News; and at his alma mater, Anglo American University. He received his B.A. from the Anglo American University in Prague, Czech Republic; and is now finishing his M.A. in Geopolitics and Strategic Studies at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain. His research focuses on transatlantic security and defense cooperation concerning China and Russia.
Partnerships Officer
Catarina Xu
Catarina is a strategy consultant specialized in corporate sustainability services. She had the opportunity to study at UCLA and Maastricht while attaining the bachelor’s degree in International Studies from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. In addition, she is currently enrolled in the master’s degree of Sustainability from Universidad Complutense de Madrid. In her free time, she loves to read, to sing, to discover new places, and simply enjoy spending time with her beloved ones.