China’s Rise and the Geopolitical Identity of the European Union

Abstract

Since the beginning of the policies of ‘reform and opening up’ (gaige kaifang) in the late 1970s, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has not only shown impressive rates of economic growth and multiplied its stakes in the global economy,^l it has also gradually intensified its involvement in international politics. From the early days of the post-Maoist period onwards the number of international organizations of which China is a member has increased continuously.² Since the mid-1990s Beijing has been engaged in far-reaching military reforms,³ and Chinese diplomacy has progressively moved away from the low-profile tradition of the Deng Xiaoping era towards greater activism, including conscious efforts to develop China’s ‘soft power’.⁴ In the new millennium, Beijing has effectively reached out to countries in virtually all regions of the world.⁵ The PRC has thus considerably expanded its presence in regional (and not only Asian) and global affairs, especially in the course of the past decade. This has important geopolitical consequences, as it upsets existing political balances and patterns of influence. China’s ‘new assertiveness’ in territorial disputes with its neighbors can be read in this logic,⁶ but also its growing influence in Latin America,⁷ long considered the backyard of the United States (US), or the ‘pivot’ towards Asia in the latter’s security policy.⁸