• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "François Godement"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "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

Other

China’s Relations with Europe

The relationship between China and European nations has been rewritten and largely turned around in the last four decades.

Link Copied
By François Godement
Published on Jan 5, 2020
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: Oxford University Press

The relationship between China and European nations has been rewritten and largely turned around in the last four decades. From presence and influence in China, the main issues have shifted and now revolve around China’s presence and influence in and near Europe. Crucially, Chinese investment in Europe has now overtaken European investment in China. China’s relations with Europe are extensive and still growing. They include intensive state-to-state diplomacy, public diplomacy that involves European elites, an outsize trade relationship as well as an investment strategy leading to increasing friction, people-to-people exchanges that consist primarily of tourist and student flows from China to Europe, and cultural influences or soft power.

Read Full Text

Published in China and the World, ed. by David Shambaught, Oxford University Press

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

  • apan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (L) reacts as US President Donald Trump delivers a speech in front of US Navy personnel on board the US Navy's USS George Washington aircraft carrier at the US naval base in Yokosuka on October 28, 2025.
    Article
    Takaichi’s Security Agenda After the Landslide Election

    Backed by a new LDP supermajority, Prime Minister Takaichi aspires to revise Japan’s long-standing security doctrine. Ahead of her visit to Washington, she faces fiscal hurdles for her proposed defense spending while needing to navigate President Trump’s request for naval assets to the Strait of Hormuz.

      • Harukata Takenaka

      Harukata Takenaka

  • Commentary
    Is the Radical-Right Threat Existential or Overstated?

    Amid increased polarization and the influence of disinformation, radical-right parties are once again gaining traction across Europe. With landmark elections on the horizon in several countries, are the EU’s geostrategic vision and fundamental values under existential threat?

      Catherine Fieschi, Cas Mudde

  • Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi delivers a speech during the graduation ceremony at the National Defense Academy of Japan on March 14, 2026 in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
    Article
    Revisiting Japan’s Non-Nuclear Principles: Between a Nuclear Allergy and Umbrella

    Japan’s prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, may kickstart a discussion on Japan’s non-nuclear principles.

      Shizuka Kuramitsu

  • Trump United Nations multilateralism institutions 2236462680
    Article
    Resetting Cyber Relations with the United States

    For years, the United States anchored global cyber diplomacy. As Washington rethinks its leadership role, the launch of the UN’s Cyber Global Mechanism may test how allies adjust their engagement.

      • Christopher Painter

      Patryk Pawlak, Chris Painter

  • People visit the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) at the Shanghai World Expo and Convention Center in Shanghai on July 28, 2025.
    Article
    China’s AI-Empowered Censorship: Strengths and Limitations

    Censorship in China spans the public and private domains and is now enabled by powerful AI systems.

      Nathan Law

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600Fax: 202 483 1840
  • 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.