Guest Lecture : Philippe Le Corre

China's Rise: Impact and Perception in Europe

Philippe Le Corre, Senior Research Fellow à Harvard – John F. Kennedy – School of Government, est actuellement fellow-in-residence à CY AS, invité de l'ESSEC-IRENE

The European Union’s relationship with the People’s Republic of China for the past decade has been characterized by missed opportunities, misunderstandings and frustrations. Europeans have seen China rising economically while not responding to calls for liberalism and democratization. The 2008 economic crisis even helped Chinese state-owned enterprises to increase their footprint on the European continent. Now the two sides are struggling to build a trusted relationship. Brussels has responded negatively to Beijing’s multiple attempts to divide the union. And despite China’s ambition to spread its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) across the European continent, there has been no enthusiasm in the European Union about this project. While China is expanding its soft power capabilities in Europe, it is a fact that large Chinese FDI have mainly taken place in countries that do not support the BRI. Even the acquisition of a majority stake of Greece’s Piraeus Harbour by China Ocean Shipping in 2016 was the result of a long negotiation that started before the 2008 financial crisis. What has changed over the past ten years is China’s strong focus on the EU and its multiplied strategies to shape the debate and build a “community of friends” among countries that have been welcoming Chinese economic presence. This has led to a growing response from European institutions who are increasingly seeing China as a competitor and a “systemic rival”.

Date : jeudi 12 mars 2020 de 12h30 à 14h00

Lieu : Maison internationale de la recherche, Neuville-sur-Oise.