HANNIBAL ANTE PORTAS? DECONSTRUCTING THE CHINESE STRATEGIC INTERESTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EUROPE
HANNIBAL ANTE PORTAS? DECONSTRUCTING THE CHINESE STRATEGIC INTERESTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EUROPE

Summary/Abstract: It is known that the Chinese talk about these two events - jiu yao yao which means 9/11 and jiu yao si - 9/14 – the date when Lehman Brothers collapsed, as related events. They are not seen as isolated incidents, but reflections of an underlying shift in power that is going on in the world, taking place sotto voce, almost by stealth. We live in many senses in a revolutionary era. In the West, the public discourse about the rise of China is prisoner to a marked Euro-Atlantic bias that is a real barrier to understanding the way China acts on the international stage. Many of us in the West find it difficult to visualize beyond the paradigms of the contemporary world of the Western hegemony and become imprisoned with our assumptions. Abstract: The question arises over the nature and the implications of the two most salient Chinese strategic interests today. First is the preservation of internal stability and unity of the country. China's second main strategic concern is of economic nature. Against this turmoiled background, European countries live in an atmosphere of reconciled acquiescence, mixed with a Panglossian stance that it will all work out well eventually. A careful look at the problem areas of EU-China cooperation (out of tune with the proclaimed comprehensive strategic partnership), i.e. criticism of China’s human and religious rights record, the extension of the market economy status, the continuing arms embargo, the asymmetry in security goals and orientation, the American reaction or China’s neo-mercantilist strategies to assure its supply of natural resources, reveal a stunning image of what Europe may lose if a growing Chinese presence might influence the political stand within the Union.

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