Francesca Ghiretti’s research focuses on EU-China relations and economic security, the Belt and Road Initiative and development, China's footprint in Southern Europe and UK-China relations. Before joining MERICS, she worked as a Research Fellow Asia at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Rome leading a project on the Belt and Road Initiative in Italy. Previously, she also worked as a geopolitical analyst for CQS, a London-based hedge fund and as assistant to Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, former Secretary General of NATO. 

Francesca received a PhD from King’s College London, where she was a Leverhulme fellow at the Centre for Grand Strategy. She holds a master's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from Leiden University and the Clingendael Institute, as well as a bachelor’s degree in Asian languages, markets and cultures (curriculum China) from the University of Bologna.