European-Chinese Relations and the Reshaping of Global Order

The rise of China is one of the great enigmas of contemporary international relations. Steadily enhancing its economy for years – we can almost speak of decades – China has reached a position in the global system which enables it to pursue more assertive and ambitious policies in the fields of trade and finance, energy and environment, technology and education, as well as national and international security. The question of whether China can rise peacefully, posed by John J. Mearsheimer in the second edition of his seminal work “The Tragedy of Great Power Politics” still begs an answer – and scholars from the US, to Western and Central and Eastern Europe, to Africa, to Russia, to China itself, have consistently been trying to provide more or less optimistic scenarios. As exemplified by the works of Mearsheimer, but also Graham T. Allison, Henry Kissinger, Christopher Coker, Joshua I. Shifrinson, and others, the rise of China is mostly observed through its relations with the United States of America, in light of power transition theories and otherwise. The issues of Sino-American trade wars, as well as potential military collision in the South China Sea, might, and likely will, have a defining effect on the future of the global order. Whether we will continue to witness the functioning of Chimerica (a mammoth-sized amalgam of two interdependent economies, as formulated by Niall Ferguson) or confront more conflicting strategic postures of two of the world’s most powerful countries, is definitely a question of utmost importance for the foreseeable future of the world. However, Chinese newfound strategic self-confidence does play out in other areas of the world as well, Europe being among the crucial ones. Through foreign policy projects and strategic initiatives such as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, formerly known as “One Belt, One Road – OBOR”), as well as domestic political restructuring – particularly obvious since Xi Jinping’s comprehensive report at the 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2017 – China has demonstrated willingness to engage in global capital flows and seek partners, resources and infrastructure in various regions of interest. In Europe, it engaged multiple countries through the 16+1 cooperation framework (currently undergoing transformation towards 17+1, as Greece is likely to join the original group of 16 Central and East European countries), with a focus on enhancing critical infrastructure through loans and investment. China is also an indispensable bilateral partner to numerous European countries, in various fields and sectors, including trade and finance, technology, or culture and education. Chinese state-controlled companies are consistently interested in obtaining owner’s rights in key European commercial ports. Due to blooming tourist exchange, Chinese police patrols are increasingly present in the streets of European cities. General relations between China and the European Union have been traditionally turbulent since the beginning of the 21st century (most notably, on the issues of human rights, dumping and intellectual property), but have nevertheless grown steadily during this period. The EU is China’s largest trading partner, while China is the EU’s second largest trading partner, behind the US. In 2018, total trade between the EU and China exceeded 600 billion US dollars, with EU imports being almost twice as high as its exports. Many analyses indicate that such trends are likely to persist into near future at least. China also plays a significant role in the coming great power competition in Europe and its near abroad, particularly in the aspiring EU member states of the Western Balkans. China has the potential to influence political practices in Europe by infusing necessary resources for the sustaining of infrastructure, shaping domestic policies of European countries along the way. In the process, it might propel responses from other regional and global powers, also keen on modelling the norms of international behavior. The question thus arises whether the potential expansion of Chinese influence would be beneficial for the global system (e.g. through the reinforcement of norms that protect sovereignty and territorial stability, as suggested by the works of Ryan Griffiths), or foment additional instability by subverting good practices in the fields of political rights and civil liberties. The section, entitled “European-Chinese Relations and the Reshaping of Global Order”, seeks to assemble a series of three or four panels which would cope with some of the pressing issues of contemporary Sino-European relations in a systematic and scientifically sound manner. It encourages submission of panel proposals comprised of papers using rigorous but diverse – qualitative, quantitative and mixed – approaches. Specific topics may deal with either theoretical or more practical implications of reinvigorated Chinese policies towards Europe, in recent years as well as in historical perspective. Issues to be addressed are, among others: trade and finance relations between China and the EU; relations between China and EU member states; the role of new technologies in EU-China relations; Chinese soft power in Europe; great powers, power vacuum and Chinese role in the Western Balkans and beyond; and the perspectives of EU-China relations. This list of suggestions is non-exhaustive, which means that proposals of other pertinent topics from the fields of political science and international relations, foreign policy analysis, strategic studies, international political economy, history and law, are also welcome. This Section also seeks to help establish a regular segment of observing and studying European-Chinese relations at ECPR events, the General Conference in particular. Given the significance of strategic, commercial and cultural aspects of these relations, it may well be argued that proper understanding of global developments in the coming years and decades is not be possible without keeping a close eye on the policies of the EU and its member countries towards China, and vice versa. A series of panels, with papers by competent scholars from various scientific fields and geographical regions might be a much needed step in such a direction.