With Chinese investment into the EU rising by 40% in 2015, and expected to grow throughout Europe in the years to come, what are the trends, sectors, and targets of investments by China’s private and state-owned companies? how do Europeans perceive China? and what is the shape of globalisation with Chinese characteristics? Join us for a discussion around the recent book by Philippe Le Corre on China’s Offensive in Europe.
Ever since the late 1990s, China has made Europe a destination for its investments, significantly increasing during the euro-debt crisis. Fast forward ten years to the point where Chinese investment is taking on a new dimension – cultivating individual European countries via ‘One Belt, One Road’ and other initiatives. Added to this, Beijing’s involvement in the Juncker Plan amounts to the biggest foreign investment in the European Strategic Investment Fund. For now, European leaders welcome Chinese investments provided they play the European way. Nevertheless the risk of a populist backlash in Europe against perceived unfair Chinese trading practices is becoming more and more consistent, brought to the fore in the debate around granting China Market Economy Status and China’s overcapacity in the steel sector. With Brexit in the background, and upcoming national elections in some EU Member States, understanding the importance of EU-China economic relations, and its implications for the overall strategic partnership is key.
We invite Philippe Le Corre, Visiting Fellow at Brookings Institution to discuss.
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Philippe Le Corre
Philippe Le Corre is a visiting fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe at Brookings. His research focuses on China’s foreign policy, Chinese economic diplomacy and soft power outreach, as well as France, Brexit, and the future of Europe. He is also a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Science in Washington, D.C. and a senior adviser to Sciences Po executive education division.
