EVENTS

In the last few years there have been some important shifts in China-EU relations. Since becoming strategic partners in 2003, China-EU ties have had strong elements of both estrangement as well as rapprochement. Owing to a robust institutional mechanism and strong economic ties, so far, the two sides have been able to compartmentalise the areas of converging and diverging interests and carry the partnership forward. In 2019, the EU labelled China as an economic competitor and a systemic rival. Since then the areas of divergences seem to have only grown stronger. While there is little doubt about the changing dynamic in China-EU ties, the magnitude of the change is yet to be ascertained. As two of the strongest economic actors, China and the EU still consider one another important for their economic prosperity. Therefore, it is the aim of this study to understand the fundamentals of China-EU strategic partnership in order to determine if the partnership will be able to withstand the recent strains caused by China’s inaction with regards to Ukraine.

About the Speakers

Preksha Shree Chhetri is currently a Research Associate at ICS. She holds a PhD from the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Her PhD thesis is titled “The EU-China Strategic Partnership, 2003-2017”. Her research interests include EU-China relations, EU-China in Central Asia, EU-China in Africa, Sino-Russian ties, BRI and the work of the United Front. In the past, she has assisted in a number of research projects including the EU-India think tank twinning initiative. She regularly contributes her research articles to the University Association for Contemporary European Studies. In 2022, she received the Huayu Enrichment Scholarship for learning Mandarin language in Taiwan. Her recent publication includes a co-authored paper on “Nepal, China and ‘Belt and Road Initiative’: Prospects and Challenges” published in India Quarterly and “Contemporary Transformations in the European Union–Germany–China Relations” published in International Studies.

About the Chair

Gulshan Sachdeva is Professor at the Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is the Co-ordinator of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence for European Union Studies in India. Prof. Sachdeva specialises in European economic integration, energy security, international development and geo-economics. His recent publications include Challenges in Europe: Indian Perspectives (Pargrave Macmillan).

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