National perspectives on Europe’s de-risking from China

Report: National perspectives on Europe’s de-risking from China

In June 2024, the European Think-Tank Network on China (ETNC) published the report: National Perspectives on Europe’s De-risking from China, under the editorial coordination of the Swedish National China Centre.

The report was coordinated and edited by Patrik Andersson and Frida Lindberg.

The “de-risking” of relations with China has become an organizing principle for the European Union (EU) since it was first put forward by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in March 2023. As is often the case with the EU, however, what is said in Brussels is not always understood in the same way across the continent. This report of the European Think-tank Network on China (ETNC) analyses how 21 EU member states and the United Kingdom view de-risking from a national context. Each chapter is written by China experts who broadly set out to address the same set of questions with respect to their own country:

• What is the country’s standpoint on the EU’s approach to de-risking?

• Which China-related risks is that country most concerned about?

• Has the country’s standpoint on de-risking resulted in any concrete measures?

• How does that standpoint affect the country’s views on or approach to China?

Romania: Early progress before the launch of de-risking but little since

While de-risking is not a topic either on the government agenda or in the public debate, Romania has already taken steps to de-risk from China in a series of measures it has undertaken in the past five years. This was made possible mainly by the limited nature of economic and political relations between Romania and China, and was catalysed by the deterioration in United States-China and European Union-China relations. Still, if Romania is to implement further de-risking measures, especially with regard to imports from China, the main barriers will not be political or economic, but institutional, such as lack of government transparency, governmental reticence to engage with other stakeholders or a general lack of interest in foreign policy debates.

The report is available on the Swedish National China Centre website and the chapter on Romania can be found at pages 111-115.