European Perceptions of China and Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative ed. by Stephen Rowley (review)

This edited volume represents a notable addition to the debate on ChinaEurope relations, and in particular to the emerging body of literature dealing with the question how Europeans see and adapt to a globally proactive and ever more ambitious China in the era of its Belt and Road Initiative. The book consists of fourteen chapters, not counting the introduction, based on discussions at a conference that took place at the campus of Sun Yat-sen University in Zhuhai in . The endeavor brings together an international set of authors, who also happen to come from different backgrounds and adopt different epistemological approaches. Three of the chapters adopt a macro-level perspective on China-Europe relations, not shying away from deep historical and philosophical analyses, contemplating the past, present, and future trajectories of the relations between China and Europe. The other eleven chapters focus on the relations between individual countries and China; two chapters focus on Spain, one chapter studies Germany and Hungary in a comparative perspective, Hungary is a subject of a standalone chapter as well, and so are Ukraine, Poland, France, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Romania, and Sweden. Most of the country-focused chapters adopt a comprehensive view, that is, analyze media discourses, public opinion, and various forms of representation, while some zoom in on particular issues and apply different theories. This book sees the light of the day at a time when relations with Europe and China are at a substantially low point, and perceptions of China in Europe are historically pessimistic. While not that long ago Europeans had seen China  China Review International: Vol. , No. , 