China–EU Relations: International Order, Bilateral Relations, and Global Governance

Abstract

In 1993, famed economist and former dean of MIT’s Sloan School of Management Lester Thurow published a book called Head to Head: The Coming Economic Battle among Japan, Europe, and America. 20 years later, it is now more common to talk about the ‘‘Strategic Triangle’’ (to use David Shambaugh’s description) or ‘‘Diplomatic Triangle’’ (from the editors of US–China–EU Relations) of US– China–EU relations. With the Chinese economy superseding Japan around 2008–2009, this new triangle now encompasses the world’s largest economies. The outcome of interactions between China, Europe, and the United States will have great impact on the world. While China–US relations have been subjected to voluminous studies, less scholarly attention has been paid to China–Europe relations. As David Shambaugh bemoans in his edited volume, ‘‘only one edited