Współpraca polskich miast z partnerami chińskimi i jej miejsce w polskiej polityce zagranicznej

Abstract

European cities are becoming more important actors on the global political scene, as they have significant foreign policy competencies. This is the result of a far-reaching process of globalization and the pluralisation of the international relations. The goal of this study is to present a map of partnerships between Polish cities and their Chinese counterparts and to attempt to characterize this cooperation. The authors will present the results of a survey conducted in 68 Polish cities.Partnerships between Polish and Chinese cities are more common form of diplomacy, particularly used by larger cities centers. Their number has been rapidly growing since 2000, reaching a total of 41 partnerships in 2020. Such cooperation is most often initiated by Polish or Chinese local authorities and focuses on culture, education and economy. Nevertheless, despite the benefits of urban cooperation with the Chinese, its potential is not being used by the government. The state’s foreign policy does not seem to consider the growing role of sub-state units and the benefits that city diplomacy offers.