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Partner, Competitor, Rival: Managing Permanent Tension in EU-China Relations
In recent years, Europe's China strategy "change through trade" has faced reality: China is simultaneously a partner, an economic competitor, and a systematic rival. As the EU struggles to find its footing between a rising China and an increasingly unreliable US, this episode explores the EU's struggles of "de-risking" its relationship with China and its quest for strategic autonomy.
To navigate this complex maze, we are joined by two core members of the MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia: Dr. Gordon Cheung, an Associate Professor in International Relations of China, who looks at how the EU's integration history serves as both a blueprint and a warning for new trade blocs in East Asia and how it shaped EU-China relations in past decades, and Dr. Ferran Perez-Mena, an Assistant Professor of International Relations of East Asia, who pulls back the curtain on the internal political tug-of-war within the EU. From the high-voltage "EV war" to the influence of "national spoilers" like Hungary, we delve into the complex, often contradictory forces shaping the future of EU-China relations.
To learn more about Durham's revised MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia, see https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/school-government-international-affairs/postgraduate-study/taught-courses/ma-politics-and-international-relations-of-east-asia/
To learn more about Drs. Cheung and Perez Mena's research visit their websites: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/g-c-k-cheung/ and https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/ferran-perez-mena/
Literature:
Fix, L. (2026). Europe's Next Hegemon: The Perils of German Power. Foreign Affairs. Online at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/europes-next-hegemon-liana-fix [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Lamour, C. (2024). Orbán Placed in Europe: Ukraine, Russia and the Radical-Right Populist Heartland. Geopolitics, 29(4), 1297–1323.
Lavery S. and D. Schmid (2021). European Integration and the New Global Disorder. Journal of Common Market Studies 59(5), 1322-1338.
Livermore, D. (2024). Orbán’s ‘Diplomacy’ reveals a vulnerable West. Europe’s Edge. Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Online at https://cepa.org/article/orbans-diplomacy-reveals-a-vulnerable-west/ [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Miró, J. (2023). Responding to the global disorder: the EU’s quest for open strategic autonomy. Global Society, 37(3), 315–335.
Sanahuja, J. A., & López Burian, C. (2024). Variations in the geopolitics of the neo-patriotic far-right and the challenge to the international order. CEBRI-Journal, 3(11), 17–36.
Segal, G. (1999). Does China Matter? Foreign Affairs. Online at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/1999-09-01/does-china-matter [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/
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By School of Government and International Affairs (SGIA), Durham UniversityIn recent years, Europe's China strategy "change through trade" has faced reality: China is simultaneously a partner, an economic competitor, and a systematic rival. As the EU struggles to find its footing between a rising China and an increasingly unreliable US, this episode explores the EU's struggles of "de-risking" its relationship with China and its quest for strategic autonomy.
To navigate this complex maze, we are joined by two core members of the MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia: Dr. Gordon Cheung, an Associate Professor in International Relations of China, who looks at how the EU's integration history serves as both a blueprint and a warning for new trade blocs in East Asia and how it shaped EU-China relations in past decades, and Dr. Ferran Perez-Mena, an Assistant Professor of International Relations of East Asia, who pulls back the curtain on the internal political tug-of-war within the EU. From the high-voltage "EV war" to the influence of "national spoilers" like Hungary, we delve into the complex, often contradictory forces shaping the future of EU-China relations.
To learn more about Durham's revised MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia, see https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/school-government-international-affairs/postgraduate-study/taught-courses/ma-politics-and-international-relations-of-east-asia/
To learn more about Drs. Cheung and Perez Mena's research visit their websites: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/g-c-k-cheung/ and https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/ferran-perez-mena/
Literature:
Fix, L. (2026). Europe's Next Hegemon: The Perils of German Power. Foreign Affairs. Online at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/europes-next-hegemon-liana-fix [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Lamour, C. (2024). Orbán Placed in Europe: Ukraine, Russia and the Radical-Right Populist Heartland. Geopolitics, 29(4), 1297–1323.
Lavery S. and D. Schmid (2021). European Integration and the New Global Disorder. Journal of Common Market Studies 59(5), 1322-1338.
Livermore, D. (2024). Orbán’s ‘Diplomacy’ reveals a vulnerable West. Europe’s Edge. Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Online at https://cepa.org/article/orbans-diplomacy-reveals-a-vulnerable-west/ [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Miró, J. (2023). Responding to the global disorder: the EU’s quest for open strategic autonomy. Global Society, 37(3), 315–335.
Sanahuja, J. A., & López Burian, C. (2024). Variations in the geopolitics of the neo-patriotic far-right and the challenge to the international order. CEBRI-Journal, 3(11), 17–36.
Segal, G. (1999). Does China Matter? Foreign Affairs. Online at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/1999-09-01/does-china-matter [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].
Music: The Good News by SHANTI from https://tunetank.com/track/263-the-good-news/