MERICS Foresight Workshop: 2024 China risks for Europe

In March 2023, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen introduced a new policy towards China centered on “de-risking” some aspects of the EU-China bilateral relationship. This approach is built on three main pillars: defending the EU’s legitimate economic interests, maintaining dialogue to address existing differences, and cooperating with partners. Effective implementation of this strategy, however, will require a more detailed understanding of the main risks that China’s policies and ambitions pose for Europe. To facilitate the early identification of some of the key risks that Europe will face next year, and to help pinpoint those that will have the biggest impact on European interests and security, MERICS organized a foresight workshop in Berlin.

This in-person foresight workshop was organized as part of the Horizon Europe-funded China Horizons project. It brought together a group of about 15 European officials, business representatives and experts for a foresight exercise aiming to shed light on the main China risks that Europe will face in 2024. Held in a closed-door, off-the-record setting, the 2.5-hour interactive workshop applied foresight methodologies based on horizon scanning and risk mapping to identify and explore potential future challenges involving China, and sought to identify which of these require most urgent action by European stakeholders.

The outcomes of the workshop will be additionally used to inform other MERICS projects, such as the MERICS China Security and Risk Tracker.

Moderators: 
Helena Legarda, Lead Analyst, MERICS
Grzegorz Stec, Analyst, MERICS

This event was for MERICS Members and key stakeholders in a confidential setting and by personal invitation only.

The MERICS China Foresight Workshop is part of the “Dealing with a Resurgent China” (DWARC) project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 101061700.

Views and opinions expressed do however not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.