China-EU relations at a crossroads : “Systemic Rivalry” or “Strategic Partnership”?

Abstract

This introductory chapter presents the various issues and problem areas in which the change of the global power structure shaped by China’s rise, China-US rivalry and the European Union (EU)’s internal transformations is reshaping China-EU relations in various ways. The author provides a comprehensive coverage of the multi-layered and multi-dimensional challenges and opportunities to China-EU relations brought about by the new era of global transformations. This chapter is aimed to set the scene for the book’s theme that China-EU relations are walking a fine line between partnership and rivalry. The chapter’s message is that China-EU relations are becoming more complex in the current new era of global transformation in which international relations (IR), international political economy (IPE) institutions and regimes as well as norms and values grounded on the existing world order need to be reconsidered and perhaps redefined. Finally, this chapter defines the book’s objectives and explains how the objectives are achieved by the author’s own analysis in combination with synthesizing the variety of findings of individual chapters derived from their individual research and perspectives.