How China is de-risking better than Europe

Key takeaways: - The concept of de-risking, which above all refers to the need to address over-reliance on China, was introduced in 2023 in a speech by EU President Ursula von der Leyen. - However, like decoupling, which was introduced in the U.S. in 2018, the introduction of the term ‘de-risking’ has not led to consensus concerning a clear strategy for addressing potential risks emanating from economic and political relations with China. - In contrast, although without using the term de-risking, since 2018 China has been steadily diversifying its markets and resource suppliers more intensively in order to decrease dependence on Europe and the U.S. - Beijing has also been expanding its influence in the Global South through Belt and Road investments, as well as a range of other economic and diplomatic tools. - China has therefore implemented de-risking more successfully than Europe, which is still reliant on key imports from single dominant suppliers. - The EU would benefit from studying what China has done and implementing a similar programme of ‘comprehensive security’ to enhance European resilience to global shocks.