China
China's diplomatic, military, economic and technological assertiveness, as well as its growing rivalry with the United States, raise certain apprehensions among its neighbors and Europeans alike.
Related Subjects
Italy's Belt and Road blues highlight hopes for rival India-Europe corridor
Ship-to-shore cranes tower high above choppy waters and colorful containers on the Ligurian coast of northern Italy. Sailors coming in to dock are greeted with a smorgasbord of transportation industry names and logos, from Denmark's Maersk to Taiwan's Evergreen. Harder to spot is COSCO, the jewel of China's maritime business, which owns a 40% stake in the cutting-edge Vado Port System at Vado Ligure.
Towards a New European Trade Strategy in Times of Geopolitical Upheaval: The German Perspective
As one of the most successful trading blocs, the EU sees itself confronted with the erosion of the global rules-based trading system and trade becoming increasingly weaponized.
Balance of Power in the Taiwan Strait in the Case of a Natural Disaster: Considering an Overlooked Scenario
Scenario planning in the Taiwan Strait that solely assumes a situation without natural disasters or emergencies, where the military and government function as usual, falls short in preparing for more complex contingencies.
From a China strategy to no strategy at all: Exploring the diversity of European approaches
While there is now new momentum in the relationship between Europe and China, considerable variation remains in approaches across the continent, from clear-cut strategies to more ambiguous policies, complicating a common European position.
China’s Weaponization of Gallium and Germanium: The Pitfalls of Leveraging Chokepoints
China’s recent announcement of raw material export controls highlights important pitfalls of weaponized interdependence and demonstrates that not all chokepoints are created equal.
Türkiye’s Stifled Ambitions
As its elections have unfolded this spring, Türkiye has again shown itself to be symptomatic of the times. Across the world, numerous political regimes oscillate between democratic forms of government and an authoritarian concentration of power; impressive periods of growth give way to inflation and recession; and international deregulation gives rise to widespread diplomacy in an effort to juggle a myriad of shifting political loyalties. Faced with the war in Ukraine, Ankara is playing a strong hand by enlarging its areas of presence and intervention. Türkiye is more important to its partners than ever, independent of its eventual domestic trajectory.
Western discourse predicted the advent of Chinese dominance in the very short term, but events have taken a rather different turn. The drivers that enabled the unprecedented growth of recent decades seem to have run out of steam. Moreover, the outcome of Beijing’s economic strategies is still uncertain, in a context shaped primarily by U.S. policies. China’s influence in the future will be considerable, but the direction its rebound will take remains unclear.
For Europeans, the events in Ukraine and the thorny issue of the Sino-American rivalry cannot paper over the other security problems we face: On what common vision of our history and future will we build the Europe of tomorrow? Has drug trafficking already changed the nature of our societies? Can we afford to turn away from instances of destabilization in Africa, from the Horn to the Sahel?
EU's China policy staying on track despite intensifying debate
While French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to China is viewed by some to be an exercise in stirring the pot, this does not mean that the European boat has veered off course. The EU is used to robust debate among and within member states, and can take this as another opportunity to affirm their stance on China.
Macron's Taiwan comments expose muddled China policy
French President Emmanuel Macron's call for Europe to steer clear of a Taiwan conflict -- rooted in France's pride and deep-seated resistance to following America's lead -- has raised questions about where he and Paris really stand on China.
China in the Race to Low Earth Orbit: Perspectives on the Future Internet Constellation Guowang
In April 2021, the Chinese government officially, but rather quietly, established a new state-owned enterprise (SOE) named China SatNet. Its mission: build out China’s “mega-constellation” program for low Earth orbiting internet satellites, known as Guowang (“national network”).
France's Macron is sending China the wrong signals
More realistic posture would strengthen Paris' role in Indo-Pacific region
Emerging Markets and Migration Policy: China
China’s development has given rise to massive flows of both domestic migration and international emigration.
The Distinctive Features of China's Middle Classes
This study seeks to lay the foundations for a better understanding of the Chinese middle classes. It goes beyond the traditional classification by revenue and identifies the distinctive features of China’s middle classes by taking into account relevant historical events, current sociopolitical and economic contexts, and key expectations of the population.
China's Growing Natural Gas Insecurity and the Potential of Chinese Shale Gas
China is poised for a dramatic increase in its demand for natural gas. As total energy demand has risen to record levels in the last five years, China has found itself in an increasingly difficult bind: the social and environmental burden from coal is becoming too heavy to bear and a growing dependence on foreign oil is becoming strategically more risky with the passage of time.
China's Two-Track Foreign Policy: From Ambiguous to Clear-Cut Positions
This analysis examines the current ambiguities, priorities and approaches of Chinese foreign policy from a practitioner’s perspective, taking into account experiences of Beijing-based diplomats (interviews conducted in 2011 and 2012), in addition to recent Chinese foreign policy positions and official communications.
It leads to the following conclusions:
China and Cleaner Coal: A marriage of necessity destined for failure?
For China, coal is a crucial source of abundant, indigenous and affordable energy and is a pillar of economic and social stability. From a logic of energy security, and because the industry itself maintains a formidable political presence through the sheer fact of its history and size, this resource will continue to play a central role in the country’s energy mix. But in order to respond to the growing need to reduce the burden of coal use on the environment and the Chinese population, and to prevent catastrophic climate change, both Chinese leaders and the industry itself have faced a certain reality - coal must become cleaner.
New Economic Development Opportunities for Taiwan in the Post-ECFA Era
The main aim of this paper is to analyze the new opportunities for Taiwan’s ongoing economic development in the era following the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China.
Rare Earths and the WTO: Tougher case than it looks
Deepening their partnership, Ifri and the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) are launching a series of op-eds, written both by Ifri and CIGS experts. This new series aims at providing the European and Asian public with original and different visions on the rapidly evolving international affairs.
The Expanding Chinese Footprint in Latin America: New Challenges for China, and Dilemmas for the US
The physical presence of China in Latin America is entering a phase of significant expansion, as the logical consequence of the rapid growth over the past decade of its trade, investment, and infrastructure for doing business in the region.
Doors Wide Shut? An Update on FDI Regulations in China
The fears of a rise in economic nationalism in China have been fueled by a number of recent moves, such as changes in the law on indigenous innovation or the enactment of a national security review (NSR) regulation for M&As by foreign enterprises. The objective of the current paper is twofold: First is to provide an update on the investment environment in China in order to determine whether or not these provisions reflect a move in the direction of more protectionism, and second is to suggest ways for European countries to level the playing field for their firms wishing to invest in China.
Internet Companies in China: Dancing between the Party Line and the Bottom Line
With over 500 million Internet users and 900 million mobile-phone subscribers by mid-2011, the Chinese Internet is an enormous market that has produced the spectacular rise of many Chinese Internet companies and attracted substantial foreign investment. This paper argues that, despite a great degree of liberalization of its market over the past 15 years, the Chinese Internet remains authoritarian in nature. Not only did the central government actively shape the infrastructure and rules of China's information superhighways, but recently it has also vigorously built state-controlled Internet companies, including a national search engine.
La Chine, banquier du monde ?
Après le tsunami des exportations, voilà la déferlante chinoise sur la finance. A l’instar des autres grandes puissances économiques de la planète, la Chine dispose aujourd’hui de multiples canaux d’influence issus de son pouvoir économique. Les utilise-t-elle pour servir ses propres intérêts géopolitiques ? Y parvient-elle ? La Chine superpuissance mondiale… à quelle échéance ? Et avec quel régime politique ?
Le modèle chinois "est à bout de souffle"
TROIS QUESTIONS A - Claude Meyer, professeur d’économie internationale et auteur de deux ouvrages sur le Chine.
L’INFO. La Chine a dévoilé le chiffre de sa croissance lundi. A 7,7%, il est toujours largement supérieur à la plupart des pays développés, mais reste que ce résultat est le plus bas des treize dernières années. La Chine, désormais concurrencée par ses voisins asiatiques, n’est plus aussi attractive. L’Etat souhaite faire évoluer son modèle vers l’industrie innovante et la consommation intérieure.
La Chine et les paradis fiscaux
Pour Claude Meyer, auteur de « La Chine, banquier du monde », l'internationalisation des grandes entreprises du pays et un système financier inadapté expliquent le recours au système offshore.
La Chine est-elle vraiment la première puissance économique mondiale ?
La Chine est-elle vraiment la première puissance économique mondiale ? La Banque mondiale le dit. En Afrique comme en France, on accueille à bras ouverts les investissements chinois. Mais, Pékin joue sur deux tableaux : acteur majeur de l’économie mondiale et, malgré tout, puissance émergente. Au moment où la croissance économique de l’empire du Milieu faiblit, où va la Chine, où entraîne-t-elle le monde ?
Support independent French research
Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2024, Ifri will support more than 70 French and foreign companies and organizations.
Related centers and programs
European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC)
The European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) is a gathering of China experts from a selection of European research institutes. It is devoted to the policy-oriented study of Chinese foreign policy and relations between China and European countries as well as China and the EU. It facilitates regular exchanges among participating researchers with a view to deepening the understanding within the European policy and research community and the broader public of how Europe, as a complex set of actors, relates with China and how China’s development and evolving global role is likely to impact the future of Europe. The network’s discussions and analyses take a decidedly ‘bottom-up’ approach, accounting for the various aspects of bilateral relations between European countries and China, and the points of convergence and divergence among EU member states in order to examine EU-China relations in a realistic and comprehensive way. The views presented in ETNC reports are the sole responsibility of the signed authors and do not in any way represent the views of all members of the ETNC, its participating institutions, nor the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.
Center for Asian Studies
Asia is a nerve center for multiple global economic, political and security challenges. The Center for Asian Studies provides documented expertise and a platform for discussion on Asian issues to accompany decision makers and explain and contextualize developments in the region for the sake of a larger public dialogue.
The Center's research is organized along two major axes: relations between Asia's major powers and the rest of the world; and internal economic and social dynamics of Asian countries. The Center's research focuses primarily on China, Japan, India, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, but also covers Southeast Asia, the Korean peninsula and the Pacific Islands.
The Centre for Asian Studies maintains close institutional links with counterpart research institutes in Europe and Asia, and its researchers regularly carry out fieldwork in the region.
The Center organizes closed-door roundtables, expert-level seminars and a number of public events, including an Annual Conference, that welcome experts from Asia, Europe and the United States. The work of Center’s researchers, as well as that of their partners, is regularly published in the Center’s electronic journal Asie.Visions.