In 2017, Secretary General Xi Jinping said: "This is an era that will see China move closer to the center of the world stage". The People's Republic of China is indeed at a pivotal moment in its history, gradually acquiring all the components of power and competing with, if not surpassing, the major world powers. This new status is challenging the global balance of power, raising questions and awakening fears. The European Union and its member states are seeking to adapt their position vis-à-vis China, to face its new diplomatic assertiveness, the rise of its military and technological capacities, and to deal with the Sino-American rivalry. However, since Beijing's international policy cannot be dissociated from its domestic context, it is also necessary to analyze the internal political dynamics that dictate foreign policy choices.
Through its research activities, Ifri's Center for Asian Studies aims to provide a better understanding of contemporary China and its position on the world stage.
Senior Research Fellow and Director of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies
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Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies
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Senior Advisor, Center for Asian Studies
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During the economic and financial crisis in 2008, during which the West was severely weakened, the ties between the Western Balkans and China were particularly close. For these countries, turning to China meant to secure new destination markets for their exports and to guarantee new...
The G7 summit in Hiroshima showcased a new international order in the making: in a world where security is indivisible, the priority should be to uphold a collectively shaped rules-based order and find a modus vivendi with China. The G7 can work toward this by taking into account the...
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...
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”).
Despite all the talks about the reshuffling of value-chains and the trend to a form of industrial “Desinicization” (or decoupling/disengagement from China), the example of South Korea does not vindicate such assertions.
2022 saw the climax so far of the weaponization of energy. Following its geopolitical demise, Russia has undertaken its own gas amputation, moving from a super energy power status to a diminished role with uncertain prospects and only hard options left.
In January 2023, the Iranian Navy staged a show of force near the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) amid growing tensions between Tehran and Canberra.
President Emmanuel Macron will visit China from April 4 to 8 for the first time since 2019 and five months after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.
As French President Emmanuel Macron (accompanied by Ursula von der Leyen) is on a state visit to China, some twenty Ifri researchers decipher the stakes of the U.S./China/Europe strategic triangle.
As a key manufacturer of high-end technology components critical to the sustainability of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, South Korea is essential in any effort to rebuild a resilient global supply chain but also to the promotion of a clean economy. South Korea can thus contribute to...
Annual conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies. The war in Ukraine has marked the return of high-intensity conflict in Europe and represents a profound, structural shift in the region’s strategic environment. It also takes place against a backdrop of a decades-long...
From zero-COVID policies to the property crisis, what are the challenges facing China's economy, and what a new era of slower Chinese growth will mean for the global economy and geopolitical dynamics?
How India sees France. A conference with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India.
The era of hyper globalization is now transforming into an age of geoeconomics, where trade and economic relations are increasingly conditioned by national security concerns. What impact will this shift have on the regional trade architecture and economic strategies in East Asia? <...>
Since 1983, the QUAD gathers every year, the SWP, RAND Corporation, Chatham House and Ifri. The QUAD was set up during the Euromissile crisis and brings together European and American diplomats, military officers, journalists and research fellow to debate on current geopolitical issues.<...>
The United States is the linchpin of Taiwan’s security. Under Donald Trump’s presidency, as tensions with the People’s Republic of China grew, the US increasingly took steps to signal ever more clearly its commitment to supporting and defending Taiwan, a trend that seems to have continued...
President Xi has surprised both the world and Chinese stakeholders in announcing the carbon neutrality objective by 2060. Yet the first announcements on China’s new Five Year Plan give little hope for a substantial policy adjustment in order to peak greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years...
As its firms become more competitive, China is increasingly well positioned to define the standards that will shape the industries of the future.
Since the end of 2019, more than 20 Notes Verbales have been submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf regarding the claims in the South China Sea (SCS).
As part of the Central and Southern Africa Observatory, a research partnership between Ifri's Sub-Saharan Africa Center and the Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy (DGRIS) of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, Ifri is hosting a series of three research webinars...
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.
More realistic posture would strengthen Paris' role in Indo-Pacific region
French president’s remarks follow criticism over his warning that Europe should steer clear of U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan
One of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s top goals for next month’s Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima is to create a united front on issues like China and Ukraine. But finding a unified approach to dealing with Beijing’s assertiveness might have just become harder.<...>
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron deliver united message to Chinese president during visit ; but as French leader signed over 20 business deals on China trip, EU chief took sterner line with Xi on economic grievances, human rights and Taiwan
French President Emmanuel Macron called on Chinese President Xi Jinping to help convince Russia to hold negotiations toward ending the war in Ukraine as the two leaders met in Beijing on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to press Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a trip to China this week to limit support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, according to French officials, amid growing Western concerns over Beijing’s deepening economic and political ties...
Recent US military activity in the Asia-Pacific is on the rise, including drills in the Philippines and South Korea as well as a submarine deal struck between the US and Australia. China has, meanwhile, accused the US of encircling the country. FRANCE 24 speaks with an expert to shed light on...
Europe has been almost entirely dependent on China for critical minerals for years, but a newly unearthed million-tonne deposit in Sweden could help reduce that reliance
The decline of the Marxist utopia and the collapse of traditional ethics have created a moral and spiritual vacuum, forging a path for religions, notes Asia specialist Claude Meyer.
