mandag 19. oktober 2020

Towards a "Principles First Approach" in Europe's China Policy

2020 was meant to be the year in which decisive progress was made in EU-China relations. It all came different: The coronavirus pandemic has exposed growing tensions in EU-China relations and served as a wake-up call for European decision makers and wider publics of their deep interdependence with China and of the resulting vulnerabilities. At the same time, China’s National Security Law in Hong Kong and human rights violations in Xinjiang have further increased tensions.

MERICS' analysts have made the ongoing shifts in EU China policy the focus of the the latest MERICS Paper on China "Towards a ‘principles first approach’ in Europe China policy – Drawing lessons from the Covid-19 crisis”. They conclude, among others, that current developments in EU China relations are a culmination of trends that have been visible for some time: “Disillusionment with China has been growing across Europe for years, as policy makers and negotiators have found it increasingly difficult to find common ground with Chinese counterparts.”