This book provides an in-depth analysis of the relations between China and the EU, tracing the development of this complex, yet intriguing, relationship between two substantially different actors. To uncover a deeper understanding of this unlikely partnership, the authors analyze the partnership through the prism of contending norms and worldviews. The China-EU strategic partnership has evolved through fits and starts but despite continuous trade disputes and severe diplomatic misunderstandings, the EU and China pledge to uphold, even deepen, the partnership. Policy experts and scholars will learn how such contending bilateral relationships can be managed and establish a better understanding of deep-seated conceptual differences between these two entities.

The contributors attempt to look into how China and Europe differently interpret political concepts such as: sovereignty, soft power, human rights, democracy, stability, strategic partnership, multilateralism/multipolarization, and global governance, to examine what implications of their conceptual gaps may have on China-EU relations.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the relations between China and the EU, tracing the development of this complex, yet intriguing, relationship between two substantially different actors. To uncover a deeper understanding of this unlikely partnership, the authors analyze the partnership through the prism of contending norms and worldviews. The China-EU strategic partnership has evolved through fits and starts but despite continuous trade disputes and severe diplomatic misunderstandings, the EU and China pledge to uphold, even deepen, the partnership. Policy experts and scholars will learn how such contending bilateral relationships can be managed and establish a better understanding of deep-seated conceptual differences between these two entities.

The contributors attempt to look into how China and Europe differently interpret political concepts such as: sovereignty, soft power, human rights, democracy, stability, strategic partnership, multilateralism/multipolarization, and global governance, to examine what implications of their conceptual gaps may have on China-EU relations.