Reinventing the EU’s trade and investment relations with China in a contested and profoundly changing world order – CEPS
China is without a doubt a key trading partner for the EU – 9 % of its goods exports and more than 20 % of its goods imports, and this is not expected to change anytime soon. Nevertheless, the EU’s trade and investment relations with China have become increasingly unbalanced and they are to some extent posing rising risks to the EU’s and Member States’ economic and national security.
Under Xi Jinping, ideology has taken precedence over the economy. State capitalism has been incrementally consolidated over the past decade at the expense of the WTO’s fundamental principles. Most recently, in the context of accelerated decoupling from the United States and the war in Ukraine, China has even deliberately strengthened its global strategic position with a more assertive anti-Western narrative.
China is thus increasingly perceived as a competitor and even more so as a systemic rival.
Still, as a world power it remains a key cooperation partner on global trade challenges, notably (in the short to medium term), on global commons or the overall reform of the multilateral institutions.
Against this background, the EU has had to strike a delicate balance between strategic autonomy aimed at strengthening its position towards China through enhanced resilience (specifically de-risking through e.g. the Critical Raw Materials Act proposal) and greater assertiveness (e.g. the anti-coercion instrument proposal), and open dialogue and cooperation where necessary and still possible with the objective of also avoiding China’s further isolation.
With the aim to transform challenges into opportunities, CEPS has established a dedicated Task Force on the EU’s trade and investment relations with China. It is structured around three closed-door hybrid workshops that will take place between July and December 2023, with the objective to produce a final report with specific calls to action and concrete policy recommendations to support the EU’s efforts to reinvent its complex trade and investment relations with China.
Please see the links below for the full prospectus, and the form to express your interest.
The first meeting is scheduled for Monday 10 July 2023.
For further information, please send an e-mail to: [email protected].
