MERICS has forged a wide range of institutional, thematic, project and content partnerships. This allows us to deliver the best possible analysis of China’s evolving global role and domestic path and to foster European and transatlantic exchanges.
Institutional partnerships
In November 2022, a three-year project titled "Dealing with a resurgent China" officially kicked off. It is funded by the EU research program Horizon Europe. The project aims to strengthen interdisciplinary China research and provide an independent knowledge base for strategically sound European policy on China. MERICS collaborates with eight partner organizations from seven European countries in the project. It is funded by the European Commission under grant number 101061700. Here you can find more information.
Since its founding in 2013, MERICS has been an affiliated institute of Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) and the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), enabling valuable academic exchange with scholars from these leading East Asia research institutions in Germany.
MERICS is a steering member of the European Think Tank Network on China (ETNC), a forum where China experts from across Europe exchange ideas on topical issues in Europe-China relations. Find out more about its activities and publications here.
Thematic partnerships
Since 2015, MERICS and the Rhodium Group (Rhg) have been analyzing China’s evolving economic footprint abroad, in particular the latest trends in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe. The reports can be read and downloaded here.
Together with the China Institute at Trier University (CIUT), we analyze China’s domestic debates and the diverse spectrum of opinions in China. The German-language project “China Spektrum” is funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF).
Together with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), MERICS ran the China Security Project from 2017 to 2022, presenting insights on China’s defense and security policies, industries, underlying domestic drivers, global power projection capabilities and implications for Europe and NATO.
In the past, MERICS worked with the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) to evaluate China’s political influence in Europe. The final report from 2018 is available here.
Project partnerships
Since 2018, MERICS has been cooperating with Bertelsmann Stiftung and the German business association BDI in organizing a regular China conference in Ziethen, bringing together high-ranking representatives from business and politics. One result of this process, among others, is the 2019 study Beyond Investment Screening, a collaboration with Bertelsmann and Rhodium Group.
In 2020, MERICS teamed up with Bertelsmann Stiftung to host a regular Berlin China retreat for top Asia officials from EU institutions and foreign ministries of EU Member States. Bertelsmann foundation has also generously supported the MERICS European China Talent Program. Find more information here.
MERICS has been a regular contributor to the Munich Security Conference (MSC) and co-organizer of China-related side events.
In partnership with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), MERICS has launched the “Think Tank Lab”. The three-year project funded by the Stiftung Mercator and the Robert Bosch Stiftung aims to support German think tanks by fostering innovation and facilitating best-practice exchange.
Since 2020, MERICS has supported the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS) in launching the Technology Alliance Project, which aims to foster new technology-policy coordination among liberal democracies. MERICS offers a European perspective and engages stakeholders from Europe’s public sector, industry, and academia. Find more information here.
Since 2018, MERICS has been a partner of the Centre for Strategic & International Study (CSIS) in the Allied Economic Forum.
With the Institut Montaigne (IM), MERICS has in the past co-hosted a high-level Franco-German workshop on “Promoting a European China Policy”.
Content partnerships
MERICS has content collaborations with The Diplomat and the IP Quarterly.
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