Unlikely partners?: China, the European Union and the forging of a strategic partnership

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

Foreword -- Acknowledgement -- Contents -- List of Tables -- Chapter 1: Unlikely Partners? The EU-China Strategic Partnership in a Changing World Order -- The Bilateral Dimension of Cooperation -- The Global Context -- The Purpose and Motivation Behind Looking into the EU-China Strategic Partnership -- The Disposition of the Book -- Notes -- Chapter 2: Strategic Partnerships: A New Form of International Engagement -- Strategic Partnerships and the Re-organization of the International System -- The Surge of Bilateral Partnerships -- A Significant Historical Context -- Strategic Partnerships as Descriptive and Constitutive Entities -- The Descriptive Dimension -- The Constitutive Dimension -- Strategic Partnerships in the Light of Contending Theoretical Paradigms -- Strategic Partnerships Seen from a Power Paradigm -- Strategic Partnerships Seen from a Social Perspective -- The Aims and Functions of Strategic Partnerships -- Strategic Partnerships as Vehicles of Social Interaction on the International Level -- Strategic Partnerships as Arenas for Bilateral Engagement -- The Meaning of Strategic Partnerships for the Individual Actor -- The EU and China as International Actors Seeking to Build Strategic Partnerships -- The EU -- China -- Notes -- Chapter 3: The Development of EU-China Relations -- The Establishment of Formal Relations -- Resumption of Relations: Renewed Cooperation Toward a Structured Engagement -- The Brief Honeymoon and Subsequent Awakening to a More Realistic Engagement -- The Strategic Partnership in the Wake of the Economic and Financial Crisis -- Recent Developments in EU-China Relations -- Stumbling Blocks in the EU-China Strategic Partnership -- The EU's Arms Embargo -- The Market Economy Status -- The Human Rights Dialogue -- The EU's Internal Lack of Cohesiveness -- Prospects of the Relations Between the EU and China