Chinese perceptions of the European Union in the 2020s: From hope to hostility?

EU–China relations are complex and multifaceted, not least because of China’s escalating rivalry with the US and tensions in the transatlantic alliance. The EU has sought to adopt a nuanced approach to China, balancing partnership, competition and recognition as systemic rivals, but this hedging strategy has become increasingly difficult as bilateral interactions, and the global context have deteriorated. While much scholarly attention focuses on diplomacy, economic statecraft and geopolitical strategy, this article adds a societal dimension to the EU−China relations from a Chinese perspective. It asks how the EU is perceived by China, drawing on a collection of original and longitudinal data from a large-scale project on external perceptions of the EU, to which the authors have previously contributed. This includes large-N surveys, media analysis, focus group discussions and elite interviews from 2015 to 2021, with the incorporation of secondary sources from 2021 onwards. Our analysis concludes that Chinese perceptions and emotions towards the EU have worsened against a background of low recognition of what the EU stands for. This is demonstrated by the discrepancy between the expectations held by the Chinese public and the EU’s perceived performance.