Between Pragmatism and Nationalism: Chinese Online Discourses on the EU

Policy Brief of Sciences Po, Paris, as part of the deliverables for Year 3 of WP2 "Chinese Society and Culture" of the research project China Horizons - Dealing with a Resurgent China (DWARC), Horizon Europe research grant number 101061700. The policy brief examines the mediated construction of the European Union's (EU) image within China's digital public sphere. Drawing on qualitative analysis across major social media platforms, it finds that the EU's image in China is fragmented and shaped by both geopolitical and domestic dynamics. The EU appears simultaneously as a normative power, a regulatory actor, a partner in trade and technology, and a subordinate to U.S. foreign policy. While pragmatic concerns such as trade, education, and technology cooperation dominate everyday discussions, issues like human rights and freedom of expression trigger strong nationalist reactions, leading to polarized debates. The analysis further demonstrates that public sentiment is shaped by agenda-setting from state media, the affective logic of platform algorithms, and pervasive self-censorship, resulting in a form of "permitted discourse". These findings highlight the limits of the EU's soft power in a context of rising nationalism and shifting digital governance. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for understanding online diplomacy and public emotion as important dimensions of contemporary EU-China relations.