China
China's diplomatic, military, economic and technological assertiveness, as well as its growing rivalry with the United States, raise certain apprehensions among its neighbors and Europeans alike.
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Battered by trade war, Merkel begins controversial China trip
Critics fear Germany could put European unity on the line. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to avoid tripping over Hong Kong and stepping on Germany’s car industry. Angela Merkel will have to tread carefully on her visit to China this week to avoid tripping over Hong Kong and stepping on Germany’s car industry.
China’s Belt & Road and the World: Competing Forms of Globalization
China increasingly sees its flagship foreign policy project as a tool for restructuring global governance and a vector for promoting a new form of globalization.
France and China's Belt and Road Initiative
Under President Macron, France has staked out a positive but principled position towards China's BRI.
Between Concentration and Dispersion: A Promising Future for Power Relations
The notion of power has long been a topic of study in international relations. In the coming decade, the evolution of power will be characterized by the dynamics of concentration and dispersion. On the one hand, the global system will be marked by the clash of two superpowers, the United States and China. On the other hand, capacity for individual action will proliferate through information and communication technologies.
Trump's trade policy: pushing back against China
Although not akin to the protectionist policies practiced by the United States through the 1930s, the trade war launched by the Trump administration since early 2018 challenges the principles and institutions of free trade.
Rare Earths and China: A Review of Changing Criticality in the New Economy
China’s dominance in the production of rare earth elements symbolizes the competition for once obscure sets of mineral resources in our increasingly digital, low carbon world.
Xi Jinping’s Institutional Reforms: Environment over Energy?
During its two sessions (lianghui) in March 2018, the National People’s Congress (NPC) announced China’s most important institutional reforms in the last 30 years. These changes occurred right after Xi Jinping consolidated his power and at a time when stakeholders working in the energy field were expecting more clarity on policy orientations.
"One Belt One Road". Asean Plenum 2018
China’s ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative is redefining China’s role in the world economy. With over $900 billion in investments covering more than 65% of the world’s population, OBOR aims to develop new markets, integrate far flung regions, and stabilize China’s borders. But as Chinese influence rises, critics argue that OBOR challenges the liberal international.
China’s National Carbon Market: a Game Changer in the Making?
As 2017 drew to close, China officially approved plans for its long-awaited national Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) outlined some of the implementation details[1]. Though it will be limited to the power sector (and combined heat and power, or CHP) at first, it will nevertheless be the world’s largest carbon market. It is expected to cover 1,700 companies representing approximately 30% of China’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. China’s CO2 emissions from fuel combustion amounted to approximately 8,796 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2Eq.) in 2016, and seem to remain stable since 2014, though they appear to increase again in 2017[2]. Shanghai should host the national market exchange, which will be jointly owned by the governments of other provinces while Hubei should host the registry[3].
The new Mao? China to lift term limits for President Xi Jinping
Does China now have a president for life? China's leader Xi Jinping could stay in power indefinitely following the ruling Communist Party's proposal to scrap term limits.
Macron in China: "The new Silk Road cannot be one-way"
"I came to tell you, is that Europe is back". French President Emmanuel Macron says China and Europe should work together on Beijing's "Belt and Road" initiative. Macron began his first state visit to China with a stop in Xian, an eastern departure point of the ancient Silk Road.
IFRI's Alice Ekman on Emmanuel Macron's state visit to China
On his first state visit to China, the French president has pushed for more European involvement in China's ambitious multi-billion dollar project to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route. China specialist Alice Ekman talks to RFI's Amanda Morrow about how China is likely to respond to pressure from France.
Emmanuel Macron to visit China as Beijing shifts focus from UK to France
China and France see French president’s visit as chance to transform bilateral ties after Brexit and election of Donald Trump. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will make his first official visit to China on Monday for talks aimed at boosting the global influence of both countries and forging closer ties with the European Union.
Chinese Investment in Europe. A Country-Level Approach
Chinese investments in Europe have surged in recent years, becoming both a source of hope and growing concern across the continent.
CPC's 19th National Congress: A Foreign Policy Perspective
As the 19th National Congress is now over, questions about foreign policy implications of China’s leadership reshuffle are raised.
Alice Ekman deciphers the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in foreign policy terms.
Chinese Think Tanks: Ambitions and Contradictions
Since Xi Jinping became president of China, the number of think tanks has considerably increased.
U.S. Visions of China: From Henry Kissinger to Donald Trump
Chinese power continues to grow both militarily and economically: its disputed territorial gains in the South China Sea are complemented by its extensive investment initiative in the New Silk Roads through the Eurasian continent.
China and the “Definition Gap”: Shaping Global Governance in Words
Increasingly, China’s diplomacy is using key words commonly used by liberal democracies, but the meaning differs greatly. This evolution is changing the terms of the debate without changing a single term.
Three Years of China’s New Silk Roads: From Words to (Re)action?
More than three years have already passed since China’s new silk roads were launched by President Xi Jinping. When he first mentioned the idea in an autumn 2013 speech in Kazakhstan, questions quickly emerged on the meaning of this general concept, which soon became widely promoted through a large-scale and well-coordinated public diplomacy strategy both in and outside China.
What Does China's 'New Asian Security Concept' Mean for the US?
A closer look at China’s vision for remaking Asian security, and what the United States can do about it. In October, China hosted the seventh Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, during which Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin outlined a framework for a regional security architecture to meet the emerging challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
Ifri, a foundation recognized as being of public utility, relies largely on private donors – companies and individuals – to guarantee its sustainability and intellectual independence. Through their funding, donors help maintain the Institute's position among the world's leading think tanks. By benefiting from an internationally recognized network and expertise, donors refine their understanding of geopolitical risk and its consequences on global politics and the economy. In 2026, Ifri partners with over 90 French and international companies and organizations.
European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC)
The European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) is a gathering of China experts from a selection of European research institutes. It is devoted to the policy-oriented study of Chinese foreign policy and relations between China and European countries as well as China and the EU. It facilitates regular exchanges among participating researchers with a view to deepening the understanding within the European policy and research community and the broader public of how Europe, as a complex set of actors, relates with China and how China’s development and evolving global role is likely to impact the future of Europe. The network’s discussions and analyses take a decidedly ‘bottom-up’ approach, accounting for the various aspects of bilateral relations between European countries and China, and the points of convergence and divergence among EU member states in order to examine EU-China relations in a realistic and comprehensive way. The views presented in ETNC reports are the sole responsibility of the signed authors and do not in any way represent the views of all members of the ETNC, its participating institutions, nor the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.
Center for Asian Studies
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.