ABSTRACT
Much, if not all, Western scholarship on China-Europe relations examines the relationship from the European perspective. Drawing on the various policy “Communications” issued by the European Commission, Western analysts have been able to assess the EU’s strategy for assisting in China’s reforms and domestic development, dealing with a rising China, integrating the People’s Republic into international institutions, and engaging China on a wide range of functional issues in pursuit of cooperative global governance. The website of the European Union’s Delegation in China is also filled with data about EU programmes in China and diplomatic interactions between the two sides.1 Individual European member state governments also publish a good deal of data on their bilateral relationships, and various European think tanks occasionally issue reports assessing the state of and issues in the relationship. However, a close reading of all of these documents, data, and studies reveals, inevitably, a strong Eurocentric bias. Very little, if anything, is written about China’s strategy for dealing with Europe, understanding of European integration, estimate of the EU’s role in world affairs, assessment of bilateral and multilateral relations with the EU and its member states, perspectives on Europe’s strategies for dealing with Beijing, Chinese perceptions of Europe, and so on.2
