Relations between China and Europe have undoubtedly been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impact. The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment signed at the end of 2020, for example, marks a change of pace in the pursuit of the Union's economic interests towards Beijing. At the same time, the EU Parliament has shown growing concern with issues such as human rights and political freedoms in China, even considering "targeted sanctions". The opposing stances taken by EU institutions add to the UK's search for a space in the post-Brexit and post-Trump international system, as well as to a worsening perception of China's international presence in most European civil societies. Where do we stand today? What will relations between Europe and China look like in 2021? How will the EU balance economic and political interests with China?
European Commission
University of Madrid
University of Exeter
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ISPI Senior Research Fellow & Head of the MENA Centre
Robert Bosch Academy, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow; Chatham House, Associate Fellow; Oxford University, doctoral researcher
Zayed University, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the eCampus University
University of Milan and ISPI AFRICA PROGRAMME, HEAD