The Academy’s Executive Director, Dr Mayssoun Zein Al Din, welcomed Dr Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova as the Academy’s first Fellow on 9 June 2022. Dr Bērziņa-Čerenkova is Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Riga (Latvia) and Head of the Asia Programme of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. At the AIA NRW she will be researching a very topical issue: the Russian-Chinese hi-tech military agenda. Already on 14 June 2022, she will discuss with Dr Sarah Kirchberger (Kiel) Russian-Chinese relations during the war in Ukraine and their implications for the future of Europe. The public evening event will take place at the Academy.