Strategic priorities: Creating momentum for an effective European approach to China

The European China Conference 2023 takes place on November 16 under the title “Strategic Priorities: Creating Momentum for an Effective European Approach to China”. With the EU-China summit about three weeks away, the conference brings together high-level policymakers and experts from all over Europe to discuss how to respond to the multitude of challenges posed by the developments in China’s economic, foreign and security policy.

The president of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will deliver the introductory remarks.

The European China Conference is a collaborative project between the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), generously supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. Additionally, we would like to thank Stiftung Mercator for their generous support to both ECFR and MERICS.

The conference is designed to extend the China debate to stakeholders across Europe and build capacity at different levels of society to proactively drive narratives on and exchanges with China. With the release of its long-awaited China strategy in July, the German government presented a realistic and pragmatic assessment of the bilateral relationship and the measures needed to strengthen Europe’s resilience.

Building on the success of two previous conferences held in 2021 and 2022 in Berlin, one focus of this year’s conference will be how to effectively embed the German strategy in a European framework and create the policy instruments needed to recalibrate the relationship with China over the coming decade. Topics of the conference include Beijing’s role in the war in Ukraine, China’s economy and China’s role in the Global South and priorities for a European China policy ahead of the 2024 US elections.

Please note that the event is by invitation only.

Find out more about ECFR’s Asia programme here and analysis on China here.