The EU and China: policy perceptions of economic cooperation and competition

Both the EU and China agree on the importance of their bilateral economic relationship, but there are differences in how the relationship is perceived. The gap is reflected in statements from officials, policymakers, business leaders and in the media as well as in policy documents from both the EU and China. While trade and investment flows that are central to the economic relationship generally occur through exchanges between economic actors, the state or polities such as the EU remain an important element in the relationship. This paper analyses the perceptions by the EU of China, the EU itself, the relationship between them, and also its wider global context, and the changes which occur in all of these. The analysis of the development of perceptions in the EU is based on official policy documents. In trade and investment policy, such documents may be considered to represent the positions of the EU based on its domestic policy process and its perceptions of the relationship based on an aggregation of interests. The paper argues that these perceptions have changed in significant ways reflecting developments in the EU and China, the relationship between them and its global context, as well as the interests and goals of the EU.