A Geopolitical Turnabout? EU and US Dual-Use Export Controls Towards China

Export controls on dual-use goods gained in importance against the background of rising geopolitical tensions and conflicts and a shift towards a ‘geoeconomic order’. With challenges posed by China’s rise as an economic and technological power, its growing tendency to use economic interdependencies and vulnerabilities to its advantage, and its military build-up, the European Union and the United States reconsidered their export control policies on dual-use goods. This article compares the specific choices of EU and US policymakers in export control policy and the changes in the purpose and scope of their respective approaches. We analyse and explain these policy changes in the context of their broader economic statecraft strategies, defining their response to security risks emanating from China as a rising and increasingly assertive power.