Partner, Competitor, Rival: Managing Permanent Tension in EU-China Relations

<p>In recent years, Europe&#39;s China strategy &quot;change through trade&quot; has faced reality: China is simultaneously a partner, an economic competitor, and a systematic rival. As the EU struggles to find its footing between a rising China and an increasingly unreliable US, this episode explores the EU&#39;s struggles of &quot;de-risking&quot; its relationship with China and its quest for strategic autonomy. </p><p>To navigate this complex maze, we are joined by two core members of the MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia: Dr. Gordon Cheung, an Associate Professor in International Relations of China, who looks at how the EU&#39;s integration history serves as both a blueprint and a warning for new trade blocs in East Asia and how it shaped EU-China relations in past decades, and Dr. Ferran Perez-Mena, an Assistant Professor of International Relations of East Asia, who pulls back the curtain on the internal political tug-of-war within the EU. From the high-voltage &quot;EV war&quot; to the influence of &quot;national spoilers&quot; like Hungary, we delve into the complex, often contradictory forces shaping the future of EU-China relations.</p><p><br></p><p>To learn more about Durham&#39;s revised MA Politics and International Relations of East Asia, see https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/school-government-international-affairs/postgraduate-study/taught-courses/ma-politics-and-international-relations-of-east-asia/</p><p><br></p><p>To learn more about Drs. Cheung and Perez Mena&#39;s research visit their websites: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/g-c-k-cheung/ and https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/ferran-perez-mena/</p><p><br></p><p>Literature:</p><p>Fix, L. (2026). Europe&#39;s Next Hegemon: The Perils of German Power. Foreign Affairs. Online at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/germany/europes-next-hegemon-liana-fix [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].</p><p>Lamour, C. (2024). Orbán Placed in Europe: Ukraine, Russia and the Radical-Right Populist Heartland. <em>Geopolitics</em>, <em>29</em>(4), 1297–1323.</p><p>Lavery S. and D. Schmid (2021). European Integration and the New Global Disorder. <em>Journal of Common Market Studies </em>59(5), 1322-1338.</p><p>Livermore, D. (2024). Orbán’s ‘Diplomacy’ reveals a vulnerable West. <em>Europe’s Edge</em>. Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). Online at https://cepa.org/article/orbans-diplomacy-reveals-a-vulnerable-west/ [Last accessed: 19 February 2026].</p><p>Miró, J. (2023). Respondin