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EU-China relations: De-risking or de-coupling − the future of the EU strategy towards China

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Study PE 754.466, European Parliament, March 2024
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As the European Union (EU) prepares for a new round of parliamentary elections, how should the bloc consider its strategy towards China?

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To evaluate the EU's policy framework towards China, this study analyses the varied facets of bilateral relations and the EU’s approach towards China, including its policy of de-risking, together with issues relating to China’s domestic politics and foreign policy. It highlights the need for the EU to adopt a coherent vision and a comprehensive and consistent long-term China strategy that can guide its future actions towards China and on the world stage. Based on its findings, it also provides a series of specific recommendations for the EU on the numerous topics analysed in the study.

John Seaman, Research fellow at Ifri's Center for Asian Studies, was a co-author of this study, notably contributed to alysis on the concepts of de-risking and economic security in the EU's relation with China

 

> The study is available on the European Parliament's website.

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John SEAMAN

John SEAMAN

Intitulé du poste

Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri

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Center for Asian Studies
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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.

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Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. A Stress Test for Taiwan with Global Implications

Date de publication
17 April 2026
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The large-scale military operation carried out by the United States (US) and Israel against Iran triggered an Iranian retaliation that resulted in the partial destruction of natural gas liquefaction infrastructure and severe disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. The economies of East Asia—South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan in particular—are highly exposed to this crisis due to their reliance on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports for electricity generation.

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Emmanuel Macron in Japan and South Korea: A Historic Opportunity for Euro-Asian Rapprochement

Date de publication
02 April 2026
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President Emmanuel Macron is touring Japan and South Korea at a time when the interests of these three countries have never been more aligned, and more broadly between Europe and East Asian democracies.

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Afghanistan-Pakistan: The Overlooked War at the Margins of the Middle East Conflict

Date de publication
31 March 2026
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Pakistan has historically maintained the closest ties to the Taliban movement and initially viewed its return to power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021 with considerable optimism. The bilateral relationship has since deteriorated, and the two neighbors have been caught in a cycle of escalation since last fall. In October 2025, Pakistan launched its first airstrikes on Kabul. For three weeks in February–March 2026, Afghanistan intensified ground assaults on the Pakistani side of the border as well as drone attacks on Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Pakistan, for its part, has intensified airstrikes on Afghan border areas, as well as on Kabul and Kandahar. Given the dynamics at play at the bilateral and regional levels, the prospects for a sustained return to stability appear limited.

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European Union-India: Lasting Rapprochement or Partnership of Convenience?

Date de publication
26 February 2026
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The partnership between the European Union (EU) and India has long been limited to economic exchanges. Its political dimension has gradually developed, culminating in its elevation to the status of a “strategic partnership” in 2004. However, the failure of negotiations for a free-trade agreement in 2013 slowed this momentum. Since the early 2020s, in an uncertain geopolitical context, bilateral rapprochement has gained new momentum.

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How can this study be cited?

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John SEAMAN, Andreea BRINZA, Una Alexandra BERZINA-CERENKOVA, Philippe LE CORRE, Richard Q. TURCSANYI, Stefan VLADISAVLJEV, « EU-China relations: De-risking or de-coupling − the future of the EU strategy towards China », External Books, Ifri, 26 March 2024.
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