Framing China First: European Parliament on Chinese Infrastructure Deals

This paper explores the discursive role of the European Parliament (EP) in steering the European Union’s (EU’s) economic positioning vis-à-vis China. More in particular, it aims to addressing to what extent the EP has acted as a discursive reservoir in shaping the European Commission’s (EC’s) framing of Chinese infrastructure investments, particularly within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Focusing on the period from 2014 to 2024, this work conducts a qualitative discourse analysis of EP resolutions and policy briefs, alongside EC documents, to examine how key frames, such as connectivity, reciprocity, and patriotic inducement of Chinese investors, emerged and evolved across institutions. The study argues that, despite the limitations of its formal powers in the EU policy making at the crossroads of trade and foreign policy, the EP leveraged its discursive role to articulate concerns and narratives that were later taken up by the EC, especially under shifting geopolitical conditions. By tracing patterns of discursive alignment over time, the paper contributes to understanding the role of parliamentary discourse in shaping the European long-term agenda-setting.