The European Union (EU) has consistently stressed that it now finds itself in direct competition with China for global influence and power. For a long time, Europe’s strength lay in its economic weight and soft power, but as China’s economy expanded and its ambitions grew, Europe’s position began to shift. In 2013, China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as its flagship global development programme. In 2019, the EU adopted a new China strategy that portrayed the country as a systemic rival, an economic competitor, and a partner, highlighting the growing tensions between the two sides in the struggle for global influence. Building on this, in 2021, the EU announced the launch of the Global Gateway, seen by many as a response to the BRI.
