In 2017, Secretary General Xi Jinping said: "This is an era that will see China move closer to the center of the world stage". The People's Republic of China is indeed at a pivotal moment in its history, gradually acquiring all the components of power and competing with, if not surpassing, the major world powers. This new status is challenging the global balance of power, raising questions and awakening fears. The European Union and its member states are seeking to adapt their position vis-à-vis China, to face its new diplomatic assertiveness, the rise of its military and technological capacities, and to deal with the Sino-American rivalry. However, since Beijing's international policy cannot be dissociated from its domestic context, it is also necessary to analyze the internal political dynamics that dictate foreign policy choices.
Through its research activities, Ifri's Center for Asian Studies aims to provide a better understanding of contemporary China and its position on the world stage.
Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies
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Senior Advisor, Center for Asian Studies
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Let’s face it: while there are growing expectations for a French and European enhanced engagement in the Indo-Pacific, when Europeans step up their commitment, or express their willingness to do so, they are often met with disdain, on the ground that they would not make a big difference in...
The Trump administration has been very actively designing and implementing a new strategy for reliable supply of critical minerals which aims at reducing the country’s vulnerabilities and becoming a leader in this field.
When we look back and think about some of the decisive moments in the West’s attitude towards China, it is rather symbolic that all goes back to Tiananmen Square, 1989.
Poverty, a major consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, is set to increase exponentially throughout the world, even though it was supposed to disappear in its most extreme form by 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led China to develop aggressive communication, with diplomatic missions using social media extensively to spread a positive image of Chinese achievements and to criticize Western countries.
2020 has been a challenging year for the world economy. Although the magnitude of the shock triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic differed widely from one country to another, no economy was left unscathed.
From the dawn of China’s space program in the mid-1950s to the ability to build, launch and operate satellites in low Earth and geosynchronous orbits from the 1980s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is in 2021 a complete space power with autonomous access to outer space and to deep-space...
Promoting political values (democracy, human rights and the rule of law) in China is a colossal undertaking, but the EU could be more effective than we think. To do so, it must act strategically, in unity, and in concert with like-minded partners. It must also strengthen its record of...
China is in the midst of a long-term effort to develop a world-class space program with a strong military and national security component.
This report is a result of a wide-scale study of public opinion on China in 13 European countries,1 conducted in September and October 2020, on the research sample representative with respect to gender, age, level of education, country region, and settlement density. Here, we focus on the...
As China elaborates on the design of its "Belt and Road Initiative" (OBOR), the place of Europe within this project is slowly but surely taking shape.
As the regional balance of power in East Asia continues to evolve and tensions in a number of hot spots - from the East and South China Seas to the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait - either simmer or intensify, the future of regional stability is increasingly uncertain....
As geo-strategic and geo-economic balances evolve across the Eurasian continent, two initiatives – the Chinese-led “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the Eurasian Economic Union – promise to shape the region’s emerging geo-political...
Access to electricity has proven a major impediment to economic growth in Africa. As an increasingly important investor in the region, what role has China played in tackling issues of energy poverty, and what can be done in the future?
This seminar will present the findings of the first report produced by the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC), a network of China experts from EU member states launched at the initiative...
Tsai Ing-wen will be inaugurated as the new president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) on May 20.
China's Development and China-Europe Cooperation: Sources of Positive Energy for the World. A conference with Yang Jiechi, State Councilor of the People's Republic of China.
Despite the political tensions that oppose Japan, China and South Korea, recent months have seen a certain rapprochement between Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. The first trilateral summit in three years was held in November 2015.
Kevin Rudd, 58, is a world renowned expert on China. He is fluent in Mandarin and in particular plays a major role in informal relations between the US and China, the main theme of this lunch debate.
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Marking the publication of the Summer (No.4) issue of Horizons "A Tale of Two Planets: The Return of China / The Future of Europe"
Mapping Europe-China Relations: A bottom-up approach -- a recent report of the European Think-tank Network on China (
Alice Ekman gave her opinion on the international development of Chinese think tanks at a roundtable in Shanghai, organized by the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, Fudan University and Phoenix International Think Tank.
The Chinese government recently passed a law to bring foreign NGOs under stricter control.
The first freight train from Wuhan, in China, to Lyon, in France, reached its destination Thursday, carrying a cargo of mechanical, electrical, and chemical products — goods that are generally transported between the two countries by ship.
Despite the political tensions that oppose Japan, China and South Korea, recent months have seen a certain rapprochement between Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing. The first trilateral summit in three years was held in November 2015.
Reports have emerged that China has set up a missile launch base on Woody Island, part of an archipelago disputed with Taiwan and Vietnam. This comes just as the US President was wrapping up an ASEAN summit to strengthen ties after the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. How will this...
Después de haber rehuido durante años implicarse en una región que considera un avispero, China quiere finalmente mostrarse como un participante más activo en Oriente Medio. La visita que el presidente chino, Xi Jinping, comienza este martes a Arabia Saudí, Irán y Egipto señala la creciente...
John Seaman answers questions from the China Daily on the recently concluded negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and their consequences for China and for Europe.
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