Chinese Investments and Involvement in Strategic Sectors and Infrastructure Development Across Europe: Europe’s Hybrid Relationship with China Beyond the BRI—Introduction to the Special Issue

Research on the economic relations between the European Union (EU) and the People’s Republic of China (China) has long been dominated by a focus on the trade relationship between both actors (Algiero 2002; Gaenssmantel 2012; Men 2013; Smith 2014; Heron 2007; Zhang 2014). This literature highlights that the trade relationship between China and the EU is highly institutionalized at the EU level and is managed through a network of high-level economic and trade dialogue as well as sectoral dialogues, working groups, networks, and platforms (Ash 2007; van der Harst 2023). However, the relationship is also at a member state (MS) level, which has its own trade relationships with China and its own concepts of sovereignty, human rights, and environmental standards (Goulard 2020; Cui 2018). This creates what Smith (2014, 39) calls the hybrid nature of the EU economic diplomacy in terms of its relationship with China. This hybrid nature creates a situation where the EU Commission depends on MS consensus and vice versa regarding policy action toward China (Freeman 2022; Woolcock 2012; Voogsgeerd 2023). This is particularly true with trade and investment regulations as common commercial policy is a Commission-level competence. At the same time, MS plays a major role in promoting or preventing economic relations with China (Gottwald 2010; Reilly 2017; Farnell and Irwin Crookes 2016; Liu and Zhang 2020).