Areas of Expertise

China’s technology and geopolitics
Cyber sovereignty and internet governance
Chinese tech companies in Europe
EU digital regulation including the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Market Act (DMA)

Short Bio

Kai von Carnap has been an associate fellow in the Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) since June 2024. In this role, he focuses on the intersection of private actors and state-led technology development in China.

His primary role is as a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Trier. His research centers on China’s role in the global internet order and its implications for digital sovereignty in Europe. As part of the research project “Digital Sovereignty of Europe (DigitS EU)” at the University of Trier, he developes qualitative methods to assess how (especially Chinese) technology companies adapt to and comply with EU digital regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Previously, von Carnap worked for five years as a research associate at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) where he conducted research on topics including internet fragmentation, Chinese platform economies, and digital currencies. He also advised the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) and served as a permanent member of the expert group “Digital Business Models” within the Sino-German Industry 4.0 project. Additionally, he contributed to knowledge transfer and mentoring as a guest lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin and as a mentor in the “German Accelerator: Discover China” program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

Kai von Carnap earned his master’s degree in Chinese-European economics and business studies from the Berlin School of Economics and Law and the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics in Chengdu. He completed his bachelor’s degree in Sinology and economics at the Ruprecht Karl University Heidelberg, supplemented by study periods at the Hong Kong Baptist University.