In this edition of IIEA Insights, three experts will discuss the future direction of EU-China relations. Tensions between Brussels and Beijing are rising as EU exports to China fall, while the volume of Chinese goods entering the EU grows rapidly. Efforts by the EU to address these imbalances – often the result of subsidies given to Chinese firms and the absence of a level-playing field in the Chinese Market for European companies – are being met with aggressive pushback from Beijing.

Noah Barkin is a Senior Advisor in Rhodium Group’s China practice, based in Berlin, where he focuses on Europe-China relations, transatlantic China policy, and economic security issues. He is also the creator of the popular Substack newsletter “Watching China in Europe” and a Visiting Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Noah has testified in the European Parliament and the US Senate, is a regular speaker on European foreign policy issues, and has written a book on the euro.

Alicia García Herrero holds a range of positions in Asia, including Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science, and the Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at the French investment bank, NATIXIS. Other roles include Senior Fellow at the Brussels-based European think-tank Bruegel, and non-resident Senior Fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore. Alicia is also a Member of the Council of Advisors on Economic Affairs to the Spanish Government.

Declan Kelleher is the former Ambassador of Ireland to the People’s Republic of China, serving from 2004 to 2013. He currently serves as the Chair of the European Policy Centre’s governing board in Brussels. In that role, he participates in the annual Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing. He has previously served as the Permanent Representative of Ireland to the European Union from 2013 to 2020, when, apart from being highly focused on Brexit issues, he used his previous experience in China to contribute to EU-China relations.