Prospects and Challenges for EU-China Relations in the 21st Century

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.

Jing Men is the InBev-Baillet Latour Chair of European Union-China Relations at the College of Europe. She also works for the Vesalius College, Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She has specialised, researched and widely taught on EU-China relations and Chinese foreign policy. She has organised two international conferences on the EU’s external relations in Bruges and founded an e-journal, The EU-China Observer, which has been recognised as an important think tank publication in this field.
Giuseppe Balducci is currently Programme Officer for the Italian Development Cooperation Office in Afghanistan. He is a former Research Assistant of the InBev-Baillet Latour Chair of European Union-China Relations at the College of Europe. He is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, UK. His main research interests include EU-China relations and Asian politics.