ABSTRACT
Introducing the book's twin ambition of investigating how Europe matters for Chinese identity, and how identity matters for China's current-day policies towards Europe, this chapter lays out the case of identity issues as an important but overlooked factor in China-Europe relations. This omission is all the more puzzling, as European ‘barbarian’ powers were key actors in the re-negotiations of Chinese social and political identity after the fall of the Qing dynasty violently introducing a new standard of civilization. Systematically addressing identity issues in the relations between two of the world's foremost power centres is, the chapter argues, also a salient case for theory development. The chapter then details the structure of the book's two-pronged approach, combining a historical investigation of Europe's role in Chinese identity formation over the last two centuries, with a contemporary section analysing how identity issues have factored in at key moments of modern China-Europe relations, thus aiding our understanding of a key relationship in a rapidly changing world.
