THE EUROPEAN UNION'S GLOBAL GATEWAY IN THE FRAMEWORK OF SINO-EUROPEAN RELATIONS

This article aims to analyze the European Union proposal called Global Gateway, a new instrument reflecting Brussels’ medium-term strategy to compete with the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s Republic of China. This analysis will focus on how the Global Gateway not only represents an economic and geopolitical response to the Chinese initiative, but also how it embodies the promotion of EU values and democracy at the global level. It will begin by examining the historical positions that the European Union has been defending with regard to the Asian country, with a geopolitical and geoeconomic analysis of the relations between the two actors. In light of the paradigm shift in these relationships as of 2019, the project that gives name to this document is studied in depth. Based on a thematic review of existing literature, it will analyze how Brussels uses the programme to disseminate its principles and values through cooperation and development policies. Finally, the implications of the Global Gateway in the current international system and its possible collision with the aforementioned Chinese project will be observed, paying particular attention to how this instrument influences global competition for leadership in infrastructure and connectivity and how it can serve as a vehicle for the globalization of European values, promoting democracy and respect for human rights in the beneficiary regions.