The European Union and China’s Belt and Road Impact, Engagement and Competition Routledge Studies in European Foreign Policy Series

This book explores key elements of European Union (EU) engagement with the Belt Road Initiative (BRI), drawing on the expertise of leading practitioners and scholars of EU-China relations.

Under the theme of discerning the BRI and its nexus with the EU, chapters examine the nature of the BRI as China?s approach to global governance and consider how BRI intersects with the EU as a very different regional integration project. Under the theme of BRI factors in EU law and policy, chapters examine the BRI as a factor in specific domains of EU law and policy, including investment, finance, the environment and the COVID-19 pandemic and consider EU responses. Under the theme of EU Member State experiences, chapters present a series of case studies of individual Member States, their engagement with the BRI and ongoing policy debates.

This book will be of interest to scholars and students of International Relations, EU external relations, Chinese public policy and foreign relations, European studies and security studies as well as policymakers dealing with China in EU and Member State institutions.

Part 1: Introduction 1.Introduction: Facing The Belt and Road From The European Union Part 2: Discerning the BRI and its Intersections with the European Union 2. The Belt and Road Initiative as China’s Approach to Global Governance: Implications for China-EU Relations and Economic Cooperation 3. The EU-China Diplomacy and the Belt and Road Initiative 4. The BRI Kaleidoscope: European Legal Pluralism and BRI Soft Law 5. The Belt and Road in the Single Market: Towards an EU legal infrastructure to address the regulatory implications Part 3: Belt and Road Factors in EU Law and Policy 6. Sino-European Financial Linkages Underpinning BRI Projects in Europe 7. The Belt and Road Initiative and State-Owned Enterprises: Is it Time for Reform of the EU Merger Control? 8. EU-China Cooperation on Promoting Sustainable Development under the Belt and Road Initiative—Consensus Built on Divergence 9. COVID-19 and EU-China Relations Part 4: EU Member State Experiences and Debates 10. France, China and the BRI: The challenge of conditional engagement 11. Between Commerce and Geopolitics: Is there a German China strategy? 12. Greece Between Crisis, Opportunity and Risk as a Key BRI Node 13. Italy’s Embrace of BRI and the Role of Internal Political Dynamics 14. China and the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe: The Case of Portugal Part 5: Conclusion 15. Conclusion: The EU’s Belt and Road Challenge: Coherence, consolidation and connectivity

Vassilis Ntousas is Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies and an Academy Associate at Chatham House.

Stephen Minas is Associate Professor of Law at the School of Transnational Law, Peking University, China, and Senior Research Fellow at the Transnational Law Institute, King's College London, UK.