The European Union’s Economic Diplomacy with China in the Context of Asymmetric Interdependence and Institutional Balancing:The Case of Germany, Italy, and Greece

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Under the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jingping, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was designed as the core strategy to pursue China’s national objectives. While the EU and China built a strategy partnership in 2003, in 2019 the EU labeled China a systemic rival, partner and competitor. Despite growing bilateral cooperation, including the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) in 2020, mutual trust has declined.

The dissertation explores economic diplomacy and conducts empirical analysis of Germany, Italy, and Greece. It focuses on how asymmetric dependency shapes member states’ economic diplomacy; how institutional balancing drives strategy recalibration and divergences in national approaches.
The study assesses EU-China relations via the EU’s Global Gateway launched in 2021, China’s BRI, and CAI. It provides insights into competition and constraints within asymmetric interest structures for evaluating shifts in bilateral relations.