From a Partner for Cooperation to a Systemic Rival for De-risking: Evolution of the EU’s perception of the rise of China (2016–2020)

Abstract In 2015, the EU-PRC Summit agreed to “develop cooperation on defense and security.” The EEAS even emphasized that the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with the PRC was its “immediate priority.” However, in 2019, the EU officially defined the PRC as “a partner for cooperation,” “an economic challenger,” and “a systemic rival” to the EU.” According to all surveys, European unfavorable views of China have risen sharply since 2018. This paper illustrates and explains the fast evolution of the EU’s interpretation of the rise of the PRC between 2016 and 2020 and exploits the key factors structuring this new perception. According to the author, the domestic political development and external actions of the PRC, the American campaign against Huawei, and Europeans’ increasing pessimism on their own future all contributed to this fast cognitive shift. Trump’s anti-China discourse, the outbreak of Covid 19, and Russian invasion of Ukraine just accelerated this trend.