The contributions to this panel challenge the widely-prevalent assumption that growing Chinese investments in Europe threaten the Liberal International Economic Order (LIEO) or liberal internationalism. Against such assumptions, following and extending recent scholarship  we argue that Chinese investments do not necessarily undermine liberal internationalism. Rather, the political implications of Chinese investments in Europe are shaped by the interplay of a variety of domestic and international variables. Our contributions elaborate these variables, thereby offering a nuanced account of the implications of Chinese investments in Europe on the LIEO.

Our contributors disrupt the binary perspectives that have accompanied China’s global (re-)ascendance. On one side of this binary view lies the ‘realist’ perspective that China’s rise disrupts liberal internationalism. On the other side of the binary view rests the ‘liberal’ perspective that China’s emergence signals a co-optation within the LIEO. Against such dichotomies, we argue- drawing on our analysis of Chinese investments in Europe- that the implications of China’s ‘rise’ are rather fragmented. Neither does this phenomenon destroy liberal internationalism nor does it signal China’s assimilation into it. As we explore in this volume, the fragmented implications of Chinese investments in Europe in turn are shaped by the often unpredictable ways in which actors in states and societies interface with one another across both contexts.

The contributors to the panel collectively reflect on the implications of Chinese investments in Europe for the liberal internationalism. They are motivated by the following related questions: Do Chinese investments in Europe threaten the Liberal International Economic Order (LIEO)? In particular, does the extension of the Belt and Road Initiative into Europe potentially undermine the ideals of liberal democracy on the continent? More broadly, what do China’s investments in Europe portend for global future of liberalism?

Paper 1

China, BRI and the Liberal world order

Dr. Ran Hu, University of York

As China’s presence continues to grow across the world, the concerns with its global presence also increase. The chapter analyses China’s most ambitious plan, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and its implications on the liberal world order. Departing from the standard assumption that BRI is a coherent and well-thought-out strategy, this chapter investigates its internal politics and presents a full picture of its origins and development through process tracing. This chapter finds out that at the beginning, BRI was incoherent and fragmented, and that as it is enacted, BRI is still a loose initiative which in fact bears the resemblance of the liberal world order. The chapter concludes by arguing that BRI could be accommodated within the liberal world order on the condition that traditional liberal democracies actively participate in it.

Paper 2

Strategic shifts or business as usual:An assessment of Sino-Italian relations under the BRI

Dr. Filippo Boni, University of Birmingham

Italy’s decision to become the first G7 country to sign a MoU with China on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has reignited debates about China’s growing clout in Europe, and the political implications deriving from it. Most of the policy, academic and media debates around this issue have been polarised around two main camps: the over-enthusiasts, aligning with Beijing, and the Sino-phobics, casting a negative light over Chinese economic and political activities in Europe. Moving beyond sweeping generalisations, this chapter aims to provide a more nuanced and fine-grained assessment of China’s engagement in Southern Europe, by assessing whether China’s economic activities in Italy have translated into political influence within the country. The analysis shows that while claims that Italy has shifted its strategic posture as a result of its engagement with China are overblown, China’s influence in the country, among the elites and the public, is growing. The chapter also demonstrates how Chinese views on key international issues are starting to gain traction among politicians and the public alike. Conceptually grounded within the framework of strategic narratives, the empirical parts of the chapter focus on two key issue-areas: elite interactions and media engagements. The chapter concludes with an assessment of the wider implications of recent developments in Sino-Italian relations for the transatlantic partnership, and the Liberal International Order. In particular, the analysis shows how the upward trajectory in Rome’s relations with Beijing, was simultaneously matched by a growing scepticism towards the EU and the US.

Paper 3

China as a catalyst for statis?

Dr. Catherine Jones, University of St. Andrews

The development and creation of a range of development and investment frameworks emanating from China form a central plank in arguments that we can now see to shape of a ‘Chinese-led’ World Order. The launch of the Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), have been seized on by scholars as evidence of new institutions in this emerging order which has the potential to act as a rival or challenger to the North American and European normative frameworks and regimes. However, this paper argues that instead China acts as a catalyst for the maintenance of a status quo. By presenting an alternative source of financing to the developing world, China neither offers a new approach nor does it fill in the gap in existing development programs. Instead, China’s largest contribution (to change) is in triggering other donors (mostly from the OECD-DAC) to make sure their aid and assistance is more targeted and effective by implementing changes identified as necessary for the previous two decades.