Publications

No Cooperation Without Circulation: Why EU–China Talent Mobility Matters

Tightening immigration policies in traditional hubs such as the U.S. creates new opportunities for Europe and China to cooperate in attracting and retaining young European talent in China. This opportunity is not merely theoretical; since Deng Xiaoping’s opening-up reforms in the late 1970s, the outbound flow of Chinese talent to Europe has thrived, resulting in more than 68,000 Chinese students and professionals contributing to Europe’s academic and professional landscape.

At the Ankara summit: Can NATO and the EU finally coordinate on the Indo-Pacific?

Giacomo Arosio and Sara Gianesello, Policy Analyst at ECDPM argue that EU-NATO engagement in the Indo-Pacific is fragmented rather than strategic, with both institutions moving in parallel with the same partners. The upcoming Ankara summit must deliver better coordination to secure a meaningful and lasting role in the region’s security architecture.

Navigating Great-Power Rivalry: An Indo-Pacific Plus Strategy for the European Union

As transatlantic tensions deepen, the European Union faces a geopolitical environment increasingly shaped by great-power rivalry rather than stable multilateralism. At Davos 2026, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that the rules-based order is weakening and that middle powers must respond through cooperational coalition-building rather than passive reliance on inherited institutions. Canada’s subsequent strategic tariff arrangement with China and the United Kingdom’s pragmatic reset with Beijing illustrate a broader trend of strategic hedging under US assertiveness. For the EU, the central question is whether to react with its own unilateral pivot, or to actively implement a coordinated Indo-Pacific coalition strategy that preserves resilience and strategic autonomy without drifting into dependency on either Washington or Beijing.

Threat or tailwind? Chinese wind turbine manufacturers and the future of European energy

The European wind turbine industry is experiencing increasing competitive pressure from Chinese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), whose rise reflects a national industrial ecosystem built on market-pull innovation, domestic scale, and supply chain integration. As Chinese OEMs expand globally, European policymakers have reacted with protectionist reflex, risking both trade tensions and the deceleration of the very energy transition the European Union has committed to. While the EU is scrambling to boost its competitiveness across several sectors amid the current geopolitical scenario, it needs to reconcile its strategic priorities with cooperative engagement towards the achievement of climate neutrality targets.

EU-China Complementarity Reconsidered: Capability Learning, Market Selectivity and the Future of China-EU SME Cooperation

In the China-EU bilateral trade and investment relationship, the SME dimension deserves to be analysed on its own terms. China-EU SME cooperation is no longer a broad story of market entry, cost arbitrage or one-directional technology transfer. It is becoming a more selective, capability-sensitive relationship shaped by sectoral complementarity, financing conditions and the management of regulatory uncertainty.

Planning for the Future: What Does China’s 15th Five-Year Plan Mean for Europe?

On March 12, 2026, China’s National People’s Congress approved the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (the Plan), which serves as the country’s blueprint for the five-year period from 2026 to 2030.

From Connectivity to Compliance: How AI governance can shape EU–ASEAN trade negotiations

As ASEAN advances its digital agenda and AI adoption accelerates across Southeast Asia, regulatory choices are starting to shape trade, investment, and strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. In this environment, the EU can seize the opportunity and promote fruitful partnerships amid ASEAN’s competitive market while positioning its regulatory framework as a driver for cooperation.

New State in the Bloc: Opportunities And Limits for Timor-Leste and ASEAN

Timor-Leste’s accession as ASEAN’s eleventh member in October 2025 marked the end of a fourteen-year accession process and a major milestone in the country’s post-independence foreign policy. While widely celebrated as a symbol of regional inclusion and reconciliation, the membership raises deeper questions about integration, institutional capacity, and ASEAN’s ability to manage persistent development gaps among its members.

Streamlining Trade: Harmonising Customs Along the Trans-Caspian Corridor

The Trans-Caspian Corridor (TCTC) links Europe to the Greater Caspian Region and Central Asia, holding great potential to boost trade and diversify transport routes. Yet, fragmented regulations and limited digitalisation still slow its development. Tools such as eTIR, e-CMR, and Single Window Systems (SWS) can harmonise procedures and streamline cross-border trade. With its strategic location and digital reforms, the Greater Caspian Region stands at the centre of this transformation. Through region-to-region cooperation and interoperable digital frameworks, the EU can help make the TCTC a more efficient, competitive, and sustainable trade route between Europe and Central Asia.