On March 31, 2026, the launch event for the Report on European Policy Towards China (2025) and an academic symposium on China-EU relations were held in Shanghai. Scholars in attendance shared their insights on Europe and China-EU relations against the backdrop of great power rivalry.
Ding Chun, President of SIES and Director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, noted that from 2025 through early 2026, China-EU relations exhibited a distinct “high-start, downward trend, and stabilization” trajectory amid a turbulent international landscape. Although there is a structural contradiction between Europe’s security dependence on the United States and its aspirations for strategic autonomy, in the face of various pressures—particularly the turmoil in the Middle East following the recent U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran—and driven by global governance and practical interests, the European side has recognized that pragmatic cooperation remains the inevitable choice for both China and the EU to maintain stable relations and achieve their respective interests. Consequently, its policy towards China has gradually warmed, with expectations for stabilization and improvement.
The conference was co-hosted by SIES and the Center for China-EU Relations at Fudan University. (For details on the conference, please refer to the summary.)
