IDIS China Program is pleased to invite you to a lecture titled: Shanghai Under the Greek Flag: Yannoulatos brothers, the Greek diaspora, and Shipping in Wartime China, by Yorgos Moraitis, Lecturer at the University of Crete, Research Fellow at the Institute of Mediterranean Studies and at IDIS.
About the lecture:
Greek shipowners have long been recognised for their ability to operate across politically volatile and commercially uncertain environments. This research examines how such adaptability played out in the case of Emmanuel Yannoulatos and his company, Yannoulatos Bros, one of the earliest Greek shipping ventures to establish a sustained presence in China during the first half of the twentieth century. By tracing the company’s activities during a period marked by imperial competition, wartime disruption, and ideological realignments, the study considers how Greek maritime actors engaged with – and adapted to – the rapidly shifting political landscape of East Asia. In doing so, it opens new avenues for understanding the global dimensions of Greek shipping beyond the familiar Atlantic and Mediterranean contexts.
About the speaker:
Dr. Moraitis is a Ph.D. holder with a Marie Curie Fellowship, specialising in China’s early engagement with Western International law. In August 2025, Palgrave Macmillan published Dr. Moraitis’ first monograph “Robert Hart and Sino-Foreign Disputes in Qing China, 1863-1908: Negotiating Sovereignty. Dr. Moraitis has previously taught at the University of Belfast and is now a faculty member in the Political Science Department at the University of Crete.