Sebastian is a professional scholar, pursuing a formation which will contribute to the development of the China – EU relationship. His research focuses on developing a theory by which the EU will be able to speed up and deepen its role as an influential geopolitical player through multilateral leadership, as a tool to contribute to global stability, and as a balancer between China and the US. His initial findings have been published in the Routledge book “China and the Eurasian Powers in a Multipolar World Order 2.0” (in press) (co-author).

In addition to his involvement with the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, since 2021 Sebastian has actively joined geopolitical think tanks and advised key stakeholders such as the China-Eurasia Council for Political and Strategic Research, the Movement for Georgia’s Democracy, the Advisory Council at BPUR International and the Global Impact FinTech Forum (GIFT).

Sebastian, as a bachelor in law, also holds two master’s degrees, one in commercial law and another in EU law and institutions from the College of Europe (Belgium). He is also an alumnus of the IESE Business School’s leadership program for public management, and he is fluent in Spanish, English, French, and Italian.

Professionally he has developed his career starting as an attorney admitted to practice law in Spain. He has previous experience in legal advice to the finance sector, in the Private Law Department of the Council of Europe, and as an Associate Lawyer in the Cuatrecasas Litigation Department.

After developing a fruitful career in the private sector, he switched to the public service, being elected councilman for three consecutive terms. In 2019, he became a Member of Parlament (Aragonese Corts). During his years as a politician, he was known for his compromise with ESG objectives, as the fight against corruption and the unlawful use of public funds, advocating for governance and higher ethical standards in public policies, while being a significant voice against populism.

This professional and political experience moved him to pursue his research as an AsiaGlobal Fellow on questioning the political lie and the effects of populism, proposing an innovative contribution, a policy memorandum as an instrument to raise the standards in politics, through setting requirements to become elected authorities, representatives and officials, aiming to decrease the populist demagogues’ power and influence and improve the credibility of the institutions.