Ever since the publication of the European Commission’s Communication “EU-China – A strategic outlook”, on 12 March 2019, the discussions around the EU’s policy on China have been shifting from a “win-win” rhetoric towards “cooperation while defining China as a systemic rival”. The Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated this process.

In the past months, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) have jointly conducted virtual expert discussions and interviews in five EU Member States, shedding light on changing narratives on EU-China relations beyond Brussels, as well as the expectations around the German EU Presidency, for which EU-China relations is a priority.

These exchanges made clear the high degree of unity in the perception of the challenges that China presents to the EU. As a result, a common European approach is seen as crucial. Although some aspects of EU-China relations are assessed and prioritised differently by individual Member States, they nevertheless provide the basis for a coherent EU policy towards China.

On 8 September 2020, the results of the final report will be presented by Dr Janka Oertel, Director Asia Programme, ECFR. This will be followed by a discussion on how a reorientation of EU-China policies can succeed, who could and should take over a leading role in this process and how the expectations of individual Member States could be met by the German EU Presidency.