Is “de-risking” possible? Responding to China related economic insecurities - UTU Research Portal

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Is “de-risking” possible? Responding to China related economic insecurities

Authors: Breslin, Shaun; Kauppila, Liisa; Sinkkonen, Elina

Publication year: 2024

Series title: EuroHub4Sino Policy Paper

Number in series: 4

Web address : https://eh4s.eu/publication/is-de-risking-possible-responding-to-china-related-economic-insecurities

Abstract

There is now a widely held belief in many parts of Europe that economic relations with China need to be “de-risked”. This is very unlikely to happen, though, without active policy changes to shift commercial behaviour and relations.
We identify four main (not mutually exclusive) ways of reducing vulnerabilities; interventionist tools, discursive ones, liberal tools, and an emphasis on technological advancements.
A number of solutions have relatively long gestation periods and thus the slower the response, the longer the continued risk.
Many of the methods will have financial consequences for either governments, producers or consumers (and possibly all three).
There are also potential non-financial costs; examples include coordination and collaboration across Europe, and implications for the type of economic systems that Europeans want to live in and promote.
Urgent research is required to establish the full extent of the costs of de-risking in different areas, and to evaluate if national governments and the EU have the capability and will to do what is needed; or to work out what level or extent of de-risking they are happy and able to live with and promote.

Funding information in the publication:
The project “European Hub for Contemporary China (EuroHub4Sino)” has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101131737.