05.10.2018

China and the EU in Global Politics: Partners or Rivals?

A Roundtable with representatives from Shanghai International Studies University

At the current juncture in global politics, China and the EU share many concerns, but at the same time also differ in many respects. On  the one hand, both parties defend the WTO regime against the Trump administration, on the other hand China’s trade policy is seen as an instrument of great power influence. Likewise, China’s Belt And Road Initiative can be recognised as a welcome effort in regionalisation or as an attempt to undermine European integration and compete over influence in Central Asia. And while Chinese support for a solution in Korea is welcome, its military engagement in the China Sea arouses suspicion. How can we make sense of these diverging impressions? How to assess the role of China and the EU in global politics? This roundtable brings together scholars from Shanghai (SISU) and Tübingen (EKUT) to discuss these issues. Participants: Hans-Jürgen Bieling (EKUT), Cao Deming (SISU), Thomas Diez (EKUT), Hongsong Liu (SISU), Gunter Schubert (EKUT) and Hua Xin (SISU).