The EU and China: mismatched partners?

Abstract

Why does the EU–China partnership encounter so many problems? What are the causes of these problems? Can they be overcome? What kind of partners are the EU and China? Can the partnership be maintained despite the increasing problems? To answer these questions, the paper will first look at the differences between the EU and China in terms of history, economic development levels, their nation-building trajectories, and their understandings on some key concepts such as sovereignty. In the second section, the paper will then study their strategic visions, economic and trade cooperation, and climate change policies. It will then analyze the challenges in EU–China relations. While there is no doubt that both sides wish for stable bilateral cooperation, the different interests in many areas may interrupt development in one way or another. It is not easy for a genuine partnership to be established between the two.

Notes

*Jing Men is the InBev-Baillet Latour Chair of European Union–China Relations at the College of Europe, Bruges. She also works for Vesalius College in Brussels. She specializes in EU–China relations and Chinese foreign policy. She would like to thank the peer reviewer for the very inspiring comments and suggestions. The author can be reached by email at [email protected].

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