The European Council on Foreign Relations

Beware the new Beijing-Berlin bond

2012-05-16T08:07:40+00:00

Europe’s relationship with Beijing will largely be determined by the emerging “special relationship” between China and Germany. However, the rest of Europe must find ways to help Germany be a good European in its relationship with China – or risk being cut out of the loop.

How to extend Burma’s Spring

2012-04-20T09:05:20+00:00

The EU is due to decide on Monday whether to lift sanctions against Burma. Instead of lifting all sanctions the EU should follow a gradual approach and focus on targeted assistance and an ambitious social-responsibility framework for European companies.

What the rise and fall of Bo Xilai tells us about China’s future

2012-03-20T12:36:14+00:00

Bo Xilai, a colourful politician who brought prosperity to a Chinese backwater, was too ambitious for the Politburo's grey men.

Grading the voice of Europe - Merkel in China

2012-02-10T10:18:26+00:00

Merkel’s recent visit to China was meant to assure Chinese risk-averse leaders that Europe is back on track. But the visit was also a part of the mosaic that makes up European foreign policy towards China.

Burma is changing, so where is Ashton?

2012-01-19T09:35:34+00:00

There are encouraging signs that the junta ruling Burma is starting to reform, and the country has been visited by Hillary Clinton and several top politicians from Europe. The EU's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, also needs to pay Burma a visit, and soon.

The year of the HUBRICS

2012-01-12T09:07:09+00:00

With Europe and much of the West facing a seemingly painful decline, attention continues to shift to the BRICS and the world's other rising powers. But are these countries overplaying their hands as the cracks begin to show in their economic virility?

Stop fretting about Beijing as a global policeman

2012-01-05T12:45:42+00:00

Last year was a tipping point in China's approach to the world, and expectations are rising that Beijing will shoulder ever greater responsibility on the global stage. But if China joins the US as a world policeman, should the rest of us be worried?

Ten trends for 2012

2011-12-21T08:56:41+00:00

After a frenetic 2011, what are the big trends that are going to shape Europe and the wider world in 2012? Here are ten that ECFR experts think are likely - and one widely predicted trend that we don't think will happen...

China’s desert-dance in Libya

2011-10-31T16:45:21+00:00

As its international profile and interests grow, China's foreign policies - now those of a great power - are coming under increasing scrutiny. Here are the four fault lines that are forming in how Beijing deals with the world.

China plays hard ball

2011-09-20T10:10:00+00:00

Europe's economic troubles have forced it to continue looking to China for financing. But Beijing, which is thought to hold up to 30 percent of its reserves in euros, is driving an increasingly hard bargain.

Why China wants a G3 world

2011-09-12T08:37:54+00:00

Despite the fashionable talk about BRICS and the G2 of Washington and Beijing, we really now live in a G3 world that combines US military power and consumption, Chinese capital and labour, and European rules and technology.

US and Europe linked by China’s redbacks - Jonas

2011-09-05T08:24:02+00:00

The USA and Europe have something in common: they need China's money. In the coming decade, the three economic centres of the world have to find better ways to interact on financial and economic matters.

Germany and China’s new ‘entente commerciale’

2011-06-29T08:47:25+00:00

Berlin and Beijing have a flourishing trade relationship, and Wen's visit to Germany today will strengthen political links. With ministers from the two governments about to stage a major meeting, China is a test case for Germany's changed role in Europe.

China’s Libya hedge highlights shift on non-interference

2011-06-15T14:39:54+00:00

Last week's meeting between China's ambassador to Qatar and the head of Libya's opposition movement signalled a departure from Beijing's traditional insistence on not interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. China's growing interests around the world means that we can expect more of the same in the coming years.

The president goes to China

2011-05-27T10:03:42+00:00

EU-China relations are maturing, and this is allowing a more frank and pragmatic approach to negotiations. The red carpet treatment for Herman Van Rompuy when he visited Beijing recently is testimony to this.

Civis Sinicus Sum: China’s Great Power Burdens in Libya

2011-03-03T16:35:34+00:00

Events in Libya have forced China to bend its cherished principle of non-intervention – not least in order to rescue 35,000 of its citizens from the country. Is this the moment that Beijing steps onto the world stage as a great power?

Western sovereign debt and China: the great guessing game

2011-03-02T12:06:44+00:00

China's huge currency reserves, and the indebted West's need for them, have created a new game. The object for Europe is to secure investment from Beijing, while also attempting to see through the veil of secrecy to find out exactly where the Chinese are spending their money.

Is Jasmine a Chinese flower?

2011-03-01T09:30:26+00:00

For Chinese leaders who lived through 1989, events in the Middle East are bringing back worrying memories. But the Arab revolutions could also present an opportunity for Beijing to increase its influence in the region.

Beijing’s Nile Fever

2011-02-14T10:11:06+00:00

The Chinese authorities are watching events in Egypt with concern: faced with an urban protest movement in an economically-growing nation, the Mubarak regime used tactics from Beijing's book, to no avail. But China also has advantages in the race to woo the emerging Arab democracies.

Taking stock for the Lunar New Year: eight issues for the year ahead

2011-02-03T09:20:31+00:00

Eight trends to watch out for in the Year of the Rabbit: ECFR's China experts cut through the buzz of news and comment to highlight key trends and debates that could define China’s future relationship with Europe and the world.

Handling the Chinese: Europe should take lessons from Washington

2011-01-24T16:03:16+00:00

A comparison between President Hu's successful visit to Washington last week and the disastrous EU-China Summit last October reveals that Europe has a lot to learn from the US when it comes to handling its meetings with China.

Tough talking with your Banker: EU-China relations in the Year of the Rabbit

2011-01-20T08:57:29+00:00

Recent Chinese investment in Europe means that the EU now shares a quandry raised by Hillary Clinton: How do you talk tough with your banker? If Europe is going to manage it, member states must stop putting short-term bilateral advantage first.

Unless Europe is united, China will divide and rule

2010-12-23T09:37:17+00:00

The Nobel peace prize ceremony earlier this month demonstrated that Europe can act together against heavy-handed Chinese pressure. But unless EU member states consistently eschew bilateral advantage in favour of a united stance on China, Beijing will divide and rule the continent.

Chinese Democracy

2010-12-16T15:11:31+00:00

It is easy to resign oneself to the idea that 'Chinese democracy' is an oxymoron. Yet the potential implications of democratisation in China are so huge that the possiblity of it happening is worth imagining. Lu Xiaobo allows us to do so, if only for a few hours.

Beyond Cancun: EU engagement with China on climate change

2010-12-06T09:14:20+00:00

Cancun will not achieve a global deal, but that should not mean that the EU gives up. By pursuing bilateral deals, particularly with China, and engaging with civil society, Europe can make progress on climate change even in the absence of worldwide agreement. Such innovative approaches might even strengthen the multilateral approach in the longer term.

It isn?t only about North Korea

2010-11-29T11:26:43+00:00

North Korea's attack on Yeonpyong Island last week, and reaction to it from Seoul to Washington, highlighted the power shift that has taken place within Asia. Arguments that the shelling represented a "last gasp" by Kim Jong-il's regime are wishful thinking, and events on the Korean peninsula can no longer been seen in isolation from the complex balance of power in the region.

The view from Beijing tells you why we need a European foreign policy

2010-11-12T16:58:10+00:00

The EU's national rivalries comprise a standing invitation for any major world power to divide and rule. In an article for The Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash argues that even if things go well, what Europeans may achieve in concentrating power resources will only just compensate for the relative loss of power to the re-emerging old-new giants in the east.

Europe in the G20: Where’s the beef?

2010-11-10T09:58:39+00:00

Europe is playing for big stakes at the G20 in Seoul. The summit is not just about opening up to the major emerging economies, but about how the West - including Europe - deal with the challenges of staving off the economic crisis and reconfiguring international institutions.

East Asia Summit; where is Europe?

2010-10-29T11:12:46+00:00

The EU could be at the East Asia Summit that is beginning in Hanoi, and it could carry a compelling and coherent message that would be listened to be the Asian states, Russia and the US. But it isn't. This must change.

A reed in the wind

2010-10-21T07:57:44+00:00

Europe's pathetic reaction to Liu Xiaobo's Nobel peace prize showed an urge by EU leaders to not only render themselves internationally irrelevant, but also a determination to cover the EU itself in ridicule. Europe must decide whether it wants to play a role in the new world order, or bend like reeds in whichever direction the wind is blowing.