China-EU ties turn 50 this year—but tensions are high. From EV disputes to Ukraine, what’s left of the “strategic partnership”? And with US President Donald Trump back in the mix, are Beijing and Brussels recalibrating? Senior lecturer Julia Roknifard from Taylor's University weighs in.
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00:00This year marks 50 years of diplomatic ties between China and the European Union.
00:06But the milestone is passing with little celebration.
00:09Relations have cooled in recent years,
00:11strained by disputes over Chinese EV subsidies and Beijing's stance on the war in Ukraine.
00:17Still, in an era of shifting US foreign policy under Donald Trump,
00:22Beijing and Brussels may be quietly reassessing their strategic footing.
00:26To unpack where this complex relationship stands and where it might go,
00:31we're joined by Julia Rognavet from Taylor's University.
00:34Thank you so much for joining us, Julia.
00:37Pleasure being with you.
00:39Julia, 50 years on, how would you characterize the relationship today?
00:43Has it evolved more as a strategic partnership or remained a transactional necessity at this point?
00:50If we take an objective look at China-EU relations,
00:57we can observe that it has been a relationship mainly focused around trade and economic relations.
01:04And probably the key words here will be economic relations and pragmatism.
01:08And it's not due to any ideological considerations that this relationship has been prospering.
01:16As in 1975, exactly 50 years ago, when this relationship was established,
01:22the European countries were capitalist democracies,
01:26and China was and remains, at least politically, a communist country.
01:30However, the trade volume rose significantly from 2.4 billion US dollars to 785.6 in 2024 since the start.
01:46So it's quite significant, right?
01:48And this also reflects the beneficial, the mutually beneficial nature of this relationship
01:52with China's still low cost of workforce, rapid industrialization,
01:59which was able to deliver a sophisticated output
02:02and also allowed European countries to offshore their production
02:08while still keeping the prices for consumers low at the domestic markets.
02:15And today, China still remains second largest trading partner for the EU,
02:21while being the major source of imports to the EU and also largest export market.
02:29Right. But do you think, given all the uncertainty around US foreign policy,
02:34especially in recent years,
02:35do you think China and the EU are trying to find more common ground on their own?
02:42They probably are.
02:44And it also is probably coming out of necessity,
02:47rather than any ideological approximation or being a buddy-buddy in international politics.
02:55Indeed, Trump's trade policies, they are pushing EU to embrace China,
03:03pragmatically, at least in terms of developing economic relationship.
03:07But also, with Trump's administration going against some very important values
03:14in the international system, like sovereignty,
03:17remember his claim for Greenland,
03:19his intention to take Greenland from Denmark,
03:24this also doesn't make the American-EU partners happy.
03:28So, inevitably, it will be pushing EU with the time,
03:33probably not immediately,
03:35because the ideological component of the EU-American,
03:38the transatlantic cooperation is still there.
03:40It will be pushing it towards China.
03:43And part of it might be under the pressure from the United States.
03:48For example, the EU will be buying laundry goods,
03:53which will be coming from China,
03:55but to the third countries.
03:56This might be happening.
03:57Right. I mean, it's definitely an interesting time
03:59to see American relationships with regards to the EU and China as well,
04:04to really assess where they are right now.
04:06So, looking ahead,
04:06is there still meaningful room for cooperation between China and the EU
04:11if we talk about, say, for example,
04:13climate, trade, or global governance?
04:15Or are we watching this strategic relationship slowly drifting away?
04:21Many areas, many potential areas for cooperation.
04:24For example, climate cooperation remains one of the major areas,
04:29and probably it will survive any ongoing geopolitical tensions,
04:34which are at all times high.
04:38And China has been one of the major proponents of new energy sectors,
04:42including, for example, solar energy and wind power,
04:46as well as China has been pushing aggressively for adoption of electric vehicles,
04:53something that EU enforced tariffs against China produced EVs to protect its market,
05:01but also not everybody in the EU was happy about it.
05:04And what will be happening,
05:08while EU cannot afford at this point to increase the cost of international volatility,
05:16how had it increased with, let's say, the Russia-Ukraine crisis,
05:21with the need to cut down on its energy,
05:24it's unlikely to be increasing that cost even further by cutting or reducing its cooperation with China.
05:33And in the long run, if the same policy on the part of the United States continues,
05:38we might even see the EU sort of revolt against this kind of policy,
05:44and instead of antagonizing the major powers like China,
05:48come closer to them, both in terms of trade,
05:52and maybe addressing some other international issues.
05:55Right, that was Julia from Taylors University.
05:59Thank you so much.
06:01It's a situation that we're definitely looking closely here at Awani International.
06:05Now,