The EU-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has grown from its original economic focus to include a vast array of bilateral and multilateral areas of Cooperation. The EU-China Strategic Agenda for Cooperation has also set the framework for broader EU-China relations until 2020 in four main areas of engagement: peace, prosperity, sustainable development and people-to people exchanges. This wide ranging relationship features a comprehensive range of senior-level dialogues on major global issues including security, trade, energy or climate change.

In order to strengthen the understanding of EU policies among Chinese leaders, media and the general public, a series of EU lectures has been sponsored by the European Commission in order to further explain EU policies and actions to Chinese counterparts. The lectures were initiated to mark the 40th anniversary of EU-China diplomatic ties in late 2015 and shall contribute to enhancing the understanding and visibility of the EU.

Following the first three lectures organized over the past year, this new lecture series will focus on the Foreign and Security Policy of the EU. Prof. Dr. Sven Biscop will talk about Geopolitics and Realpolitik with European Characteristics. Biscop is the Director of the Europe in the World Programme at Egmont and teaches at Ghent University and at the College of Europe in Bruges. He is an Honorary Fellow of the European Security and Defence College, lectures in various European staff colleges. At the People’s University in Beijing, he is a Senior Research Associate of the Centre for European Studies. Sven also represents Egmont in the Higher Studies in Security and Defence, a course for security practitioners organized with the Belgian Royal Higher Institute for Defence. Moreover, Sven chairs the jury of the biennial European Defence Agency – Egmont PhD Prize in European Defence, Security & Strategy. He serves on the Committee of the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and is a member of the Strategic Advisors Group of the Atlantic Council (Washington) and of the board of the Flemish United Nations Association.

The lectures will take place at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing (31 October) and Fudan University in Shanghai (1 November).  Mr. Asad Beg, Minister Counsellor and Head of the Political, Press and Information section at the Delegation of the European Union to China and Mongolia will also provide keynote speeches at both events. 

Background: The EU-China Public Lecture Series is funded by the Partnership Instrument of the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission. It is one of the funding instruments that enable the EU to take part in shaping global change and promote its core values. It has global reach with an emphasis on partner countries of strategic interest to the EU such as China.