The PRC Sees ‘Window of Opportunity’ With Europe

Arran Hope

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“A certain strategic window” (一定的战略窗口期). That is how two scholars describe the opportunity for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to deepen its ties with Europe amid current tensions with the United States. The argument comes from an article published in the journal World Affairs (世界知识) in which the authors—one of whom runs the Centre for European Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai—write that the international system is “undergoing the most profound strategic transformation since the collapse of the bipolar pattern” (正经历着自两极格局瓦解以来最深刻的战略转型). They suggest that the PRC and Europe might be able to get over their “values barrier” (价值观藩篱) and use their economic and trade exchanges as “ballast” (压舱石) to help alleviate Europe’s current crisis (World Affairs, April 1).

This view is one of many currently being debated within the PRC system, but it has traction. Some more measured voices in the PRC’s academic community evince doubts about the Beijing’s ability to capitalize on this perceived opportunity. However, there is little disagreement over whether or not this strategy should be pursued. A survey of high-level statements and bilateral talking points between the PRC and European governments and the European Union (EU) indicate that Beijing has intensified its long-running attempts to divide the continent’s democracies from the United States. From the European side, certain reported statements suggest a degree of receptivity to these overtures.