Dr. Francesca Ghiretti directs the RAND Europe China Initiative and leads research on economic security within RAND Europe’s Defence and Security team. A recognized expert on China’s foreign policy and Europe-China relations, she also serves as an adjunct fellow at CSIS’s Wadhwani Center for AI and Advanced Technologies. Her career spans roles at MERICS, IAI, ECFR, and the private sector, including work as a geopolitical analyst and assistant to former NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Author of Chinese Investments and the Economic Security Turn in Europe (Bristol University Press, 2025), Francesca’s insights appear in top outlets such as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Politico. She holds a Ph.D. from King’s College London, where her award-winning thesis explored the securitization of Chinese FDI in the EU. Francesca also hosts the podcast Geoeconomic Competition.