The impact of city diplomacy on the EU’s policy towards China

Fast development of the EU’s relations with China proceeds on three levels: the supranational, interstate and sub-state. At the sub-state level, city authorities in European countries have in recent years increased the number of contacts with Chinese counterparts, which has been hardly noticed by EU institutions. The phenomenon of urban cooperation with China seems to be disconnected from the upper levels of European policy. We believe that this is an important oversight. In our survey of 743 European cities, as much as 53% of respondents admit having cooperation with China, and 15% perceive these partnerships as crucial. Cities also see many advantages of cooperation but indicate that their activities are coordinated only to a small extent by national authorities and even less by the European Union. Based on our survey results, this paper wants to look closer at the link between the EU institutions responsible for the EU policy and cities contacting China. We would like to understand the (potential) mechanisms of engaging local actors and the obstacles. In the first part of the paper, we will investigate the place of urban cooperation through analysis of strategic documents related to China (i.e. EU-China 2020 Strategic Agenda for Cooperation; EU’s Strategy towards China 2016; European Parliament’s resolution on a strategy towards China 2021). Then, on the basis of a series of interviews with the EU officials, we will show “Brussels’s” perspective on engagement with local authorities. Finally, the interviews in Brussels will be confronted with data gathered in the cities (survey and in-depth interviews with local officials). The paper will contribute to a better understanding of city diplomacy’s role in the EU policy towards China in the context of international “actorness” of European cities, political coherence of the EU external actions and policies, and multilevel governance in the EU.