Connecting the EU and China Along the Belt and Road Initiative

The European Union and China share both similar and dissimilar economic situations and problems. Similarities call for cooperation in solving problems and strengthening advantages, differences call for exploring compatibilities, synergies in the use of instruments and actions for finding possibilities to diffuse and appropriate positive spillovers. The Belt and Road Initiative promises to invest Chinese surplus abroad and give a strong impetus to the development of infrastructure and connectivity, and lately to health and virtual connectivity, which is good for both China and the European Union. However, the role of the EU remains rather passive and shows relatively weak opportunities for EU investment and job creation. Problems remain in the geostrategic and political domains, but also in economic terms. Prominent among these are the need to streamline economic advantages of China with opportunities for the EU, the compatibility of rules and standards and their enforcement, the difficulties for the European Union to manage jointly relations with China and the need for China's approach to be in line with European integration aims, sharing the control over strategies and projects.