Lithuania — 9DASHLINE

At China’s Universal Periodic Review, European states must defend human rights in Hong Kong

Written by Megan Khoo and Anouk Wear

The UPR is an opportunity to enhance what EU member states have been practising at the domestic and EU level over the past five years, and one which complements and solidifies their positions.

Faultlines, Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 23, 20249dashline, At China’s Universal Periodic Review, European states must defend human rights in Hong Kong, Megan Khoo, Anouk Wear, China, Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Palais des Nations, Geneva, United Nations, international human rights law, human rights, EU, Hong Kong, Beijing, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Albania, United Arab Emirates, Malawi, transparency, historical narrative, accountability, UN archives, enforcement, NGO, activists, human rights activists, multilateral, international law, Hong Kong Protests, Hong Kong’s human rights situation, European Parliament, export controls, elections, National Security Law, Jimmy Lai, pro-democracy, pro-democracy protests, media, press freedom, religious freedom, European Parliament Informal Hong Kong Watch Group, diaspora, Germany, France, extradition treaties, extradition, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, condemnation, human rights violations, Hong Kong Informal Friendship Group, Bundestag, political prisoners, Olivier Cadic, André Gattolin, André Vallini, Constance Le Grip, Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), Taiwan, Vilnius, Paris, Lithuania, Tiananmen Square massacre, Tiananmen Square, extraterritoriality, Chow Hang-tung, independence of the judiciary, freedom of assembly, Hong Kongers

EU-China Summit: A relationship stuck in time

Written by Dr Francesca Ghiretti

Holding the first in-person summit since 2019 is an important achievement, and the EU has been able to express some important concerns to Xi Jinping directly; however, the words — especially from China — demonstrate Beijing still views the EU mostly as an economic partner.

The EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument — A new step in EU-China escalation?

Written by Sjorre Couvreur

The adoption of the Anti-Coercion Instrument entails an important step for the EU’s adjustment to an increasingly geoeconomic context in international trade policy.

NATO’s future in the Indo-Pacific: Tilt or jilt?

Written by Mathieu Droin

The limitations of what NATO can offer or execute in the Indo-Pacific raise the question of whether there may be other more appropriate frameworks to publicly tackle shared security challenges between the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.

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The transatlantic puzzle in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Mathieu Droin

The brewing Indo-Pacific architecture is inherently “flexilateral” due to the breadth of factors and the rapidly changing stakes that determine its many actors’ positions.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJune 28, 20239DashLine, The transatlantic puzzle in the Indo-Pacific, Mathieu Droin, European Union, Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, AUKUS, transatlantic, minilateral, Indo-Pacific, Japan, China, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), India, strategy, flexilateral, Thucydides trap, geoeconomic, trade, geostrategic, ASEAN, ASEAN centrality, clubs, biannual EU-US high-level consultations on the Indo-Pacific, Washington, France, overseas territories, Indian Ocean, Pacific, strategic autonomy, puissance d’equilibres, power of balances, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Pacific Islands, Netherlands, Germany, Council of the EU, EU presidency, Italy, Rome, Tempest programme, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Raisina Dialogue, Denmark, maritime domain, Hungary, Chinese coercion, Lithuania, dependence, Berlin, Beijing, German Indo-Pacific strategy, Central and Eastern Europe, Xi, Putin, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia-China axis, NATO, EU Indo-Pacific forum, South Korea, New Zealand, President Macron, GLOBSEC Forum, North Macedonia, Sweden, Djibouti, Laos, transatlantic Quad, Anglo-Saxons, aspiring powers, rising powers, strategic autonomists, GCAP, Franco-Indian-UAE initiative, freedom to manoeuvre, Quaderateral Security Dialogue, Quad, EU, UK, Thucydides, Giorgia Meloni, Ukraine, Czech, Nato, GLOBSEC, NZ, UAE, CSIC, CSIS

China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe: stuttering to a halt?

Written by Dr Jeremy Garlick

The BRI’s unfulfilled potential in the region leaves the connectivity and cooperation aims of the initiative largely on the shelf, with the main successes for China located in Western Balkan countries that are not EU members.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJune 12, 20239DashLine, China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Central and Eastern Europe: stuttering to a halt?, Jeremy Garlick, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), China, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), One Belt One Road, Beijing, Russia, Western Europe, developing world, Global South, investment, Cold War, Soviet influence, Sino-Soviet split, communist regimes, 16+1 framework, 16+1, 16+1 summit, 14+1, 17+1, EU, trade, economy, trade routes, China-CEE cooperation, Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s invasion, Russia's aggression, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Taiwan, infrastructure, Western Balkans, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, China-CEE cooperation framework, Russia’s regional influence, Greece, high-speed railway, Belgrade, Budapest, EU regulations, Hungary, Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, Southeast Europe, port of Piraeus, trade chain, Suez Canal, trade volumes, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, bilateral deals, EU bureaucracy, highway, railway, Danube River, bridge, sewer system, power plants, energy infrastructure, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Central Asia, Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), Africa, EU accession, EU integration, creditor, Fudan University, ‘One China’ policy, United Nations, Xinjiang, connectivity, Eurosceptic, CEE countries, CEE region, regionalisation, CEE, Central and Eastern Europe, European Union

Italy-China relations under Meloni: Less hard-line than expected

Written by Lorenzo Lamperti

Unable to presently guarantee total alignment when it comes to sharing the American point of view on Russia and the current war in Ukraine, Meloni has chosen to present herself as fully aligned with Washington on the Chinese front.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLFebruary 16, 20239dashline, Italy-China relations under Meloni: less hard-line than expected, Lorenzo Lamperti, Italy, Giorgia Meloni, Taiwan, China, Xi Jinping, Andrea Sing-Ying Lee, Brothers of Italy, right-wing, Taipei, United States, US, People's Republic of China, Forza Italia, the League, Lega, Silvio Berlusconi, Matteo Salvini, Putin, Ukraine, Russia, Russia-Ukraine war, Conte government, memorandum of understanding, MoU, Beijing, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Huawei, 5G, Mario Draghi, elections, 2022, Tibet, military action, democracy, Autocracy, Central News Agency, Lucio Malan, Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, Interparliamentary Friendship Group, Tsai Ing-wen, G20 summit, Bali, Italian government, sanctions battle, Xinjiang conflict, Antonio Tajani, Wang Yi, bilateral dialogue, economic relations, crucial sectors, Chinese businesses, Golden Power, LPE, semiconductor equipment, Atlanticism, Guido Crosetto, Australia, Lithuania, foreign policy, ruling coalition, 15th Conference of Italian Ambassadors, Indo-Pacific

2023: The future of CEE-China relations

9DASHLINE asked a select group of experts to assess Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries’ relations with China and how they expect them to evolve in 2023.

Europe and the Indo-Pacific9DLJanuary 16, 20239dashline, 2023: The future of CEE-China relations, JUSTYNA SZCZUDLIK, VUK VUKSANOVIC, VALENTINA VENGUST, STEFAN VLADISAVLJEV, Central and Eastern European, CEE, China, 17+1, 14+1, Beijing, 2022, 2023, Russia, Ukraine, Russia-Ukraine war, PRC-CEE, PRC-CEE relations, economic cooperation, security concerns, critical infrastructure, high-tech industry, backsliding, democratic backsliding, coercion, Lithuania, EU common market, 'no-limits' friendship, Moscow, 16+1 summit, Huo Yuzhen, Estonia, Latvia, Jiang Yu, US, united states, Taiwan, security guarantor, NATO, China-CEE format, Czech Republic, Greece, Chinese investments, security concern, security guarantees, Washington, Belarus, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, Serbia, Hungary, Middle Corridor, Albania, North Macedonia, cooling-off period, joint statement, territorial integrity, sovereignty, diplomatic missions, Baltic countries, EU-China relations, China-CEE cooperation, cooperation mechanism, Sino-Serbian cooperation, territorial disputes, free trade agreement

Best of 2022: Russia’s War and the International Order

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year took the international community by surprise and raised concerns about the precedent this might set especially for China’s policy vis-à-vis Taiwan. The differing responses from countries, particularly established and rising powers, were also scrutinised, and implications were drawn for global governance and the international order.

Faultlines9DLJanuary 4, 2023Russia, Ukraine, The day the music stopped, Jana C. von Dessien, University of St Gallen, Taiwan, Putin, Liberalism from below: The Global South, Indrajit Roy, UN, United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, Liberal International Order, The rationale behind Beijing’s position on the war in Ukraine, Wang Li, University of Aberdeen, China, Beijing, China's Endorsement of Russia's Assault: Implications for Europe and Asia, Justyna Sczudlik, propaganda, Moscow, Lithuania, Europe, Alignment without alliance: China’s growing ambivalence to Putin’s war, Lunting Wu, Kamil Matusiewicz, Nonalignment’s long shadow: India and the Ukraine crisis, ROHAN MUKHERJEE, India, indo-pacific, multipolar order, New Delhi, Japan-Russia: The end of delusions, CÉLINE PAJON, Shinzo Abe, Nicholas Ross Smith, Ukraine — A wakeup call for the United States, Ian Hall, Why India won’t break from Russia… yet

EU-Taiwan ties: Towards resilient global value chains

Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy

Addressing strategic dependencies and increasing resilience in the face of an assertive China by expanding cooperation with Taiwan has become a more sustainable path in the perception of many in Brussels.

In Brief: Charlie Weimers MEP

We can no longer depend on a single autocratic regime for our resources, be it Russia or China. European companies are, however, much more invested in China than they are in Russia; hence, it may be more difficult to divest from China.

President Biden’s more strategic competition with China

Written by Nathaniel Sher

Washington understands that it is competing with Beijing to determine not only whose economy and military are more dominant but also whose principles of governance are more worthy of global leadership.

What will the Czech Republic’s EU presidency mean for China?

Written by Filip Šebok

In July, the Czech Republic takes over the reins of the EU presidency from France. While Ukraine will most likely dominate the agenda, Prague is still set up to offer new impulses on the bloc’s China policy, especially within the larger framework of the Indo-Pacific.

Pacific9DLMay 31, 20229DashLine, Czech Republic, Czechia, France, Ukraine, EU, European Union, FILIP ŠEBOK, China, Prague, Beijing, Brussels, Andrej Babiš, Taiwan, Human Rights, Václav Havel, Beijing Olympics, Miloš Zeman, Vladimír Tomšík, Jan Lipavský, Lithuania, CEE, Tibetan Government in Exile, Tibet, Badiucao, Uyghurs, Czech Chamber of Deputies' Foreign Affairs Committee, 16+1, Indo-Pacific, Libor Sečka, The Netherlands, Germany, 5G, Prague Proposals, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Washington, US, climate change, Japan, South Korea, India, ASEAN, EU Commission, Russia, Huo Yuzhen, What will the Czech Republic’s EU presidency mean for China?, Czechoslovakia, indo-pacific, Beijing Winter Olympics, Olympics, Central and Eastern Europe, President Zeman, Uyghur, Netherlands, United States, China Observers in Central and Eastern Europe, Association for International Affairs, MapInfluenCE

Uncharted waters: In search of Slovenia’s long-term China strategy

Written by Valentina Vengust

As a small country without the economic or political leverage of the bigger players, openly pursuing and advocating for the formation of an EU-wide unified strategy towards China could be extremely beneficial for Slovenia to attain its own foreign-policy goals.

In Conversation: Julia Gurol on The EU-China Security Paradox

We recently sat down with Dr Julia Gurol to discuss her latest book ‘The EU-China Security Paradox’. A fascinating read, this book investigates the complex security relations between the EU and China — one of the world’s most important, yet complicated, security relationships.

Principled confidence to replace servility to dictators in new Czech foreign policy agenda

Written by Jakub Janda

Prague can even take the route of Lithuania and do the previously almost unimaginable: changing the official name of its bilateral diplomatic representations to include the word “Taiwan” instead of “Taipei”.

2022: Taiwan and its continued push for recognition

9DASHLINE invites a select group of experts to explore how Taiwan may circumvent its diplomatic isolation and be included as a reliable partner in international efforts seeking a transition towards a greener, healthier and more resilient world.

Human Rights, China and the Winter Olympics — can democratic unity prevail?

Written by Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy

After Taiwan opened a representative office in Lithuania under its own name, Beijing didn’t only retaliate bilaterally, but it went after Lithuania’s trading partners in Europe, undermining the integrity of the European single market.