• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "François Godement"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "asia",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "AP",
  "programs": [
    "Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "East Asia",
    "China",
    "Western Europe"
  ],
  "topics": []
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

Europe’s China Backlash

Europe’s China policy is undergoing a tectonic shift.

Link Copied
By François Godement
Published on Mar 25, 2019
Program mobile hero image

Program

Asia

The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

Learn More

Source: Institut Montaigne

Europe’s China policy is undergoing a tectonic shift. The attention was on Mr. Xi Jinping’s visits for influence to EU member states – Italy after Portugal and Spain a few months ago, and even tiny Monaco (population: 38,000). This is the time chosen by the EU to suddenly come forward with a short and crisp new China strategy that starts from realism : China is a "systemic rival", and the EU must build its own responses, starting from competition rules and industrial policy, leveraging issues in dealing with Beijing.

The Commission leaves few stones unturned, starting from China’s egregious human rights practices, noting drily that China’s large exports of coal-fired plants contradict its commitments on climate, and promoting coordination across the continent for the security of 5G networks.

To this shift, Emmanuel Macron is adding an innovation in European foreign policy: he is inviting Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker to a joint meeting with Xi Jinping during the latter’s state visit to France this week. He is also setting a high bar: besides climate, the reform of WTO and key issues in the EU-China economic relationship are on the menu. Mr. Macron is also just back from East Africa where he pointed out in Djibouti the risk of Chinese hegemony. He has also publicly endorsed in Brussels the new European strategy, commenting that the EU has to act like a superpower if it wants to be treated as one.

Read Full Text

This article was originally published by Institut Montaigne.

About the Author

François Godement

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Asia Program

Godement, an expert on Chinese and East Asian strategic and international affairs, was a nonresident senior fellow in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

    Recent Work

  • Other
    Reorienting China Policy By Working With Europe

      François Godement, Ashley J. Tellis

  • In The Media
    China at the Gates: A New Power Audit of EU-China Relations

      François Godement, Abigaël Vasselier

François Godement
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, Asia Program
François Godement
East AsiaChinaWestern Europe

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Aerial view of shipping containers at a port
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Fallout of the U.S.–Canada Trade War Won’t Be Limited to North America

    U.S. trading partners in Asia are closely watching the dispute for signs of how it may affect their own interests.

      • Barbara Weisel

      Barbara Weisel

  • olice officers and residents stand in front of a shopping mall while a large outdoor screen broadcasts a military welcome ceremony featuring U.S. and Chinese flags for U.S. President Donald Trump hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026
    Paper
    American Power: A View from China

    Chinese strategists are once again debating whether American power is declining and whether U.S. hegemony is experiencing irreversible decay.

      Wu Xinbo

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    As It Turns 25, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Reflects the New World Order

    With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.

      Temur Umarov

  • People dancing in the foreground, with a group of people in suites watching and an Air China plane in the background
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Two Key Takeaways From Xi’s Egypt Visit

    Amid celebrations of bilateral ties was a deeper focus on stability in the Middle East.

      Amr Hamzawy

  • upward-facing view of ornately tiled buildings
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Performance Art or Meaningful Collaboration?

    Xi, Putin, and other regional leaders are back-slapping in Bishkek, but the SCO has yet to answer the most serious questions about continental Asia's economic future.

      Evan A. Feigenbaum

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.