China’s expectations of the European Union change according to its own national interests

While finding out what the EU thinks of China is relatively easy for European academics, discovering what China thinks of the EU is a more cumbersome task. Li Zhang has scrutinised the country’s media coverage of the EU to find an answer. She writes that, at the micro level, China adjusts its views and expectations of the EU according to its own national interests, its changing identity and its evolving perceptions of the EU – a pattern she defines as ‘reflexive expectations’. At the macro level, China had high expectations on the EU’s role in a multi-polar world. These expectations have now shrunk in light of the financial crises and of the EU’s reluctance to implement a full financial partnership, and China now has more cautious and realistic expectations about EU-China cooperation.

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