China And Europe Relations In The Twenty First Century

This book argues that although relations between China and Europe are strained in many areas, including trade, human rights and views about political systems, nevertheless established linkages, especially when considered in the context of long-term historical linkages, development trajectories and intellectual cultures, offer good prospects for future progressive collaborative exchanges. Approaching the subject in a balanced way, giving equal weight to the perspectives of both sides, the book examines China and Europe’s shared experiences of age-old civilizations, of the disorienting effects of the economic, social and political upheavals triggered by the late eighteenth century creation of the modern world, and of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries era of European empires, warfare and the Cold War. It contends that although China and Europe appear superficially to have followed different paths, with many problems in their relationship resulting, they in fact have a very great deal in common concerning how they have coped with the long shift from ancient civilizations to the modern world of natural-science-based industrial capitalism.

China and Europe both decisively shape twenty-first century global politics. Successful cooperation between Europe and China continues, notably in climate change mitigation, or finding a way out of the financial crisis. Relations are also increasingly institutionalised, such as through Summits or High-Level Dialogues. However, although in 2013 the EU and China have celebrated the 10-year-anniversary of their Strategic Partnership, struggles have re-emerged, in relation to human rights, intervention in crisis regions such as Syria, and trade subsidisation and protectionism in areas such as the solar energy industry. Given this simultaneous presence of partnership and competition, this edited volume investigates if Sino-European relations have become what Henry Kissinger has termed a “co-evolution”: both China and Europe “pursue their domestic imperatives, cooperating where possible, and adjust their relations to minimize conflict”. The volume sheds light on four key areas of Europe-China relations: first, high politics and security relations; second, the European sovereign debt crisis; third, energy and environmental issues; and fourth, soft power and public diplomacy. As the volume is authored by Chinese and European early-stage scholars in equal numbers, it adds a balance of perspectives and a future-oriented outlook to the still-low but increasing number of works on Europe/EU-China relations.

In 25 years, EU-China relations have come far, further than many could have imagined - but how much further can these relations be taken? Today, their bilateral relations are at a crossroads. In effect, it has been 25 years since the EU and China agreed upon the legally binding Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement, which sets the basis for their diplomatic relations. In an ever increasingly complex and globalised international environment, these actors have become mutually interdependent on a variety of levels. In 2007, they agreed to revise and update the 1985 accord and replace it with an all-encompassing Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. However, more than three years passed, and there are many points of contention which need to be negotiated. What obstacles are blocking this agreement? How can these obstacles be overcome? What concessions should be made and where? This book will provide an up-to-date analysis of the problematic concerns, and the means to resolve these issues, that range from human rights, to international trade conflicts and climate change.

How are the rising mutual concerns of Asian and European countries shaping their approaches to the international order? Contributors to this volume discuss emerging critical issues in International relations, including the Indo-Pacific constructs, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the progress of established regional security mechanisms like the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. They also compare western and non-western approaches to these issues, with a holistic perspective on the origins and evolutions of these approaches. Both the Indo-Pacific constructs and BRI present a remarkable set of opportunities for Europe as well as Asia. This book presents key implications of the changing politico-security dynamics in the two regions from the perspectives of both Asian and European scholars and theoretical traditions. A must-read for scholars of International Relations with a focus on relations between Asia and Europe.

With the exception of Canada’s relationship with the United States, Canada’s relationship with China will likely be its most significant foreign connection in the twenty-first century. As China’s role in world politics becomes more central, understanding China becomes essential for Canadian policymakers and policy analysts in a variety of areas. Responding to this need, The China Challenge brings together perspectives from both Chinese and Canadian experts on the evolving Sino-Canadian relationship. It traces the history and looks into the future of Canada-China bilateral relations. It also examines how China has affected a number of Canadian foreign and domestic policy issues, including education, economics, immigration, labour and language. Recently, Canada-China relations have suffered from inadequate policymaking and misunderstandings on the part of both governments. Establishing a good dialogue with China must be a Canadian priority in order to build and maintain mutually beneficial relations with this emerging power, which will last into the future.

This book examines how recent fundamental changes influence Sino-Russian relations and the wider long-term implications of the revolving Sino-Russian dynamic on international affairs. It brings together leading scholars to examine recent developments across the whole relationship – from grand strategy and global governance, to bilateral energy and military ties, and regional interaction in Central Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Middle East. The Sino-Russian relationship boasts major achievements, but also reveals important differences and latent tensions. The project is intended for policy-makers, academics and students of strategic studies, diplomacy studies, Chinese politics, Russian politics and foreign policy.

US-China Relations in the 21st Century addresses the bilateral relations of these two nations on an international, domestic, societal and individual level between 1990 and 2005. Peaceful power shifts remain a central dilemma in world politics, since historically power transition from a dominant nation to a challenger has been associated with international wars. This book examines whether China and the US can learn from history and manage a potential power transition peacefully. Zhiqun Zhu selects two important cases of power transitions in history as the background for this study: power rivalry between Great Britain and Germany that led to the First World War the peaceful power transition from Great Britain to the United States. US-China Relations in the 21st Century contributes to the current International Relations theory by proposing a new analytical model on global power transition and providing recommendations for peacefully handling a potential power transition from the US to China in the future. This original and comprehensive study is essential reading for scholars of US and Chinese foreign policy, world politics and international relations.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the relations between China and the EU, tracing the development of this complex, yet intriguing, relationship between two substantially different actors. To uncover a deeper understanding of this unlikely partnership, the authors analyze the partnership through the prism of contending norms and worldviews. The China-EU strategic partnership has evolved through fits and starts but despite continuous trade disputes and severe diplomatic misunderstandings, the EU and China pledge to uphold, even deepen, the partnership. Policy experts and scholars will learn how such contending bilateral relationships can be managed and establish a better understanding of deep-seated conceptual differences between these two entities.