EU’S STRATEGIC SHIFT IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC AND ITS IMPACT ON EU-CHINA RELATIONS

A significant change from trade-focused negotiation to a far more complex strategy integrating security and defence has been reflected in the European Union's (EU) changing position towards the Asia-Pacific. In order to maintain a rules-based international order and balance of power in the context of increasing Chinese power and authority, the EU's Indo-Pacific Strategy strongly emphasises deepening the alliance and cooperation with Asian partners, including Japan, India, and ASEAN. This paper critically explores the core reasons for the EU's turn, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and South China Sea safety concerns and their effects on EU-China ties. An analysis of policy documentation and earlier studies indicates that the EU seeks strengthened strategic independence and lessening its economic reliance while handling regional stability matters. China views the EU's security transition as aligned with U.S.-supported limitations, which may intensify regional hostility, fostering interaction on climate change. By promoting stability and carefully managing its economic relations with China, this cycle puts the EU in an appropriate stance in the multipolar Asia-Pacific region. In this potential scenario, the EU has that point to redefine EU-China ties in a geopolitical environment that is shifting quickly by having both resiliency and pragmatic interaction.