Explaining the EU’s policy shift toward China: an institutional approach

The foreign policy of the EU has long been criticized for prioritizing 'expediency above principles' and failing to 'speak in a single voice.' However, its strategy toward China has demonstrated a surprisingly coordinated shift over the past decade – one that requires a theoretical explanation. By problematizing existing approaches that focus on either individual policy sectors or the international system, this article introduces an institutional approach. This approach emphasizes the role of the EU's fundamental objectives and the institutional framework supporting them in explaining the EU's policy shift toward third countries. Drawing on evidence from official documents, news reports, and interviews with policymakers, this article illustrates how the rise of China has challenged the EU's fundamental objectives of prosperity and security, which further intensifies the existing value conflicts between Brussels and Beijing. This article contributes to the scholarly discussion of the interplay between global disorder and European integration.