ABSTRACT
Taking as a starting point the historical truism that global power parities are constantly in flux, this chapter offers thoughts as to whether the increasingly pre-eminent trilateral power relationship between the European Union, China and the United States will alter over the coming decades, and how this may occur. After first setting the theme within its historical context, the three thematic lenses of trade and investment, foreign and security policy and energy and climate change are adopted to highlight some contemporary examples of both cooperation and competition in these areas. Drawing upon this evidence, propositions are made as to whether the existing US leadership may soon be replaced by a new multipolar global order or by a more ‘disordered’ multipolar global system. Attention is also paid to the capacity, if any, that leading global institutions and organizations such as the United Nations and the G20 may have to determine the future trajectory of this trilateral relationship.
