Where does the EU stand on the promotion of political values in China?
Categories: Event
Date: 11/12/2018
Time: 19 h 00
Location: Eno Atelier
Links: iCal - Google Calendar
YCW Brussels: “Where does the EU stand on the promotion of political values in China? Lessons from the ETNC annual report with Tim Rühlig, Research Analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs
For a long time, Europe believed that China was ultimately set to liberalize its political system and followed a “constructive engagement” strategy. The times of such European confidence are gone. Under President Xi Jinping, China’s power is not only rising but the country is turning more authoritarian again. China’s reluctance to liberalize is not only questioning that the Western political system is without alternative, but is studied by more and more countries thinking about what they might imitate. Even in Europe, China’s ideological influence is on the rise.
Where does Europe stand in this development? How should Europe respond to this trend? We will discuss these issues with Tim Rühlig, lead-editor of this year’s report of the European Think tank Network on China (ETNC) that provides an overview of different European perspectives on the role of political values in Europe-China relations from no less than 17 European countries. In particular, we will debate on the role of the EU that has not only to deal with such diversity but is also at the front when it comes to promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law in China.
Tim Rühlig is a Research Analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, the foreign policy think tank of the Swedish government. In 2018, he has been coordinating the European Think tank Network on China that consists of almost 20 China experts from almost twenty European think tanks from the same number of countries. Tim holds degrees in international relations, peace and conflict research, political science and anthropology. For his PhD, he has been working extensively on China’s foreign policy-making, the party-state and the country’s political economy. Ever since, he has broadened his expertise to include Europe’s China policy.
