China-US global rivalry and the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Written by Marcin Grajewski.

China, the United States, and the European Union are global rivals in areas covering trade, geopolitics, the military, economics, and technology. Economically, China’s rise as a global player has disrupted the traditional dominance of the US and the EU. China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) seeks to expand the country’s economic influence by investing in infrastructure projects across many regions, challenging the economic interests of the US and the EU.

For several years, US trade policy has aimed to prevent China from becoming the global technological leader, notably in the area of green transition and artificial intelligence (AI). Washington is encouraging the EU to follow a similar policy, and the Union is becoming increasingly wary of its economy being dependent on exports from some other regions. In April, the European Parliament called for clarity and unity in policy towards China. EU leaders, divided in their approach to China, will hold a strategic debate on China at the European Council meeting on 29-30 June.

The clash between different ideologies exacerbates the rivalry, with the US and EU representing democratic values and China pursuing an authoritarian model. Despite the rivalry, the three powers also face common challenges such as climate change, necessitating a delicate balance between competition and collaboration.

This note offers links to recent reports and commentaries from some major international think tanks and research institutes on the global rivalry of the three regional powers. It focuses on politics, the economy and technology. ‘What think tanks are thinking’ will focus on the military aspect of this competition and China’s attitude to Russia’s war on Ukraine in future editions.

European think tanks

Five reasons why the EU needs a strategic trade policy
Bertelsmann Stiftung, June 2023

De-risking as an economic strategy
Bruegel, June 2023

China’s growing power in Latin America
Bruegel, June 2023

China’s weak recovery is turning off foreign investors
Bruegel, June 2023

Value chain-infused EU-China debate
Central European Institute of Asian Studies, June 2023

Europe can withstand American and Chinese subsidies for green tech
Centre for European Reform, June 2023

China and the transatlantic relationship
Chatham House, June 2023

The new central front: Japan’s special role in the West’s strategic rivalry with China
European Council on Foreign Relations, June 2023

China “De-risking”: A long way from political statements to corporate action
German Council on Foreign Relations, June 2023

The role of space technologies in power politics: Mitigating strategic dependencies through space resilience
Finnish Institute of International Affairs, June 2023

Debt relief in Africa: Conflicting interests between the West and China hinder multilateral solutions
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, June 2023

China and the US might not be decoupling but their technologies are bifurcating
Bruegel, May 2023

China’s overseas lending needs a full-fledged debt restructuring
Bruegel, May 2023

Control through cooperation? Assessing China’s economic and military-strategic interests in the South China Sea
Brussels School of Governance, June 2023

The West needs more than export bans to compete with China
Central European Institute of Asian Studies, May 2023

Strict ban on China will cost us dearly in science
Clingendael, May 2023

United States and China on a collision course: The importance of domestic politics for the bilateral relationship
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, May 2023

The critical importance of the Single Market for Europe’s global trade performance
European Centre for International Political Economy, April 2023

Here’s what to expect on China, AI, green energy, and more when EU and US officials meet in Sweden
European Policy Centre, May 2023

Europe’s China dilemma
Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, May 2023

War and peace in the 21st century. China and the US: Can bipolar confrontation be avoided?
Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, April 2023

Global trends in countries‘ perceptions of the Belt and Road Initiative
Bruegel, April 2023

China’s good relations with Africa rely more on narratives than economic impact
Bruegel, April 2023

China’s 2023 work report and what it means: An AI post-mortem
Bruegel, April 2023

Can Europe forge a common China policy?
Carnegie Europe, April 2023

Europe’s pursuit of securing critical raw materials for the green transition
Chatham House, April 2023

EU-China: we have to talk about (not Macron but) strategy
Egmont, April 2023

Strategic autonomy and the competitiveness of Europe’s innovative pharmaceutical sector: A wake-up call
European Centre for International Political Economy, April 2023

Behind the buzzwords: What China’s priorities mean for Europe
European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2023

Xi Jinping’s idea of world order
European Council on Foreign Relations, April 2023

The changing dynamics of the G7, G20 and BRICS: Informal multilateral cooperation is increasingly important in an era of strategic competition
Finnish Institute of International Affairs, April 2023

EU-China trade and investment: Unbalanced and well below potential
Friends of Europe, April 2023

The internationalisation of the Chinese renminbi and China’s digital currency plans
Istituto Affari Internazionali, April 2023

Will China’s new financial regulatory reform be enough to meet the challenges?
Bruegel, March 2023

Li Keqiang’s farewell points to employment as China’s major problem
Bruegel, March 2023

Putin and Xi are making the war in Ukraine a global contest
Carnegie Europe, March 2023

Like it or not, the EU needs American cloud services
Centre for European Reform, March 2023

China is attempting a precarious balancing act
Chatham House, March 2023

Is Europe failing on import diversification?
Bruegel, February 2023

Can Europe influence U.S.-China rivalry?
Carnegie Europe, February 2023

The South China Sea and Indo-Pacific in an era of “Multipolar” competition:
A more targeted EU response?
Centre for European Policy Studies, February 2023        

An open relationship: What European governments can learn from China-Gulf cooperation
European Council on Foreign Relations, February 2023

World economy is fracturing, not deglobalizing
Chatham House, February 2023

What is China playing at? Beijing’s difficult navigation of neutrality and rivalry
GLOBSEC, February 2023

The future of industrial policy and the European Single Market
Irish Institute of International and European Affairs, February 2023

The US-China technology war and its effects on Europe
Real Instituto Elcano February 2023

American think tanks

Blinken makes the rounds in Beijing: Will there be a US-China thaw?
Atlantic Council, June 2023

Renewable energy should not be the next semiconductor in US-China competition
Brookings Institution, June 2023

Getting China right: Resoluteness without overreaction
Brookings Institution, June 2023

China’s growing influence in Latin America
Council on Foreign Relations, June 2023

The U.S. is losing ground to China in Southeast Asia
Council on Foreign Relations, June 2023

Great-power competition and conflict in Latin America
Rand Corporation, June 2023

U.S.-China rivalry in an era of weakening states
Rand Corporation, June 2023

Great-power competition and conflict in the Middle East
Rand Corporation, June 2023

China still gets “developing nation” preferential treatment
Wilson Centre, June 2023

Words and policies: “De-risking” and China policy
Brookings Institution, May 2023

How Biden could “thaw” US relations with China
Brookings Institution, May 2023

Who wins from US debt default? China
Peterson Institute on International Economics, May 2023

Industrial policy for electric vehicle supply chains and the US-EU fight over the Inflation Reduction Act
Peterson Institute on International Economics, May 2023

Why the proposed Brussels buyers club to procure critical minerals is a bad idea
Peterson Institute on International Economics, May 2023

Has Chinese aid benefited recipient countries?
Brookings Institution, April 2023

Watching China in Europe – April 2023
German Marshal Fund, April 2023

Beijing offers muted response to US attempts at reframing relationship
Peterson Institute on International Economics, April 2023

The US path toward security depends on economic integration with like-minded countries
Peterson Institute on International Economics, April 2023

Can China’s green energy acceleration put at risk the West’s hydrogen plans?
Rand Corporation, April 2023

‘When we are together, we drive these changes.’ What Xi and Putin’s deepening alliance means for the world order
Atlantic Council, March 2023

Is the global economy deglobalizing? And if so, why? And what is next?
Brookings Institution, March 2023

How to read Xi’s muscular message on China’s global role
Council on Foreign Relations, March 2023

Five years into the trade war, China continues its slow decoupling from US exports
Peterson Institute on International Economics, March 2023

---

Read this briefing on ‘China-US global rivalry and the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.