Beyond Strategic Partnerships Asymmetric Interdependence and EU Negotiating Power in Sino-European Economic Relations

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1. Verfasser: Hosseinzadeh, Ashkan
Format: Recurso digital
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2025
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author Hosseinzadeh, Ashkan
author_facet Hosseinzadeh, Ashkan
contents <p><strong><span>Abstract</span></strong></p> <p><span>Why does the European Union struggle to translate its declared "strategic autonomy" into tangible negotiating leverage in economic relations with China, despite possessing the world's largest single market? This paper extends theories of asymmetric interdependence to explain structural constraints limiting EU bargaining power with Beijing. Building on Michalski's foundational research on EU-China strategic partnerships and the optimistic role conceptions that characterized these relationships (Michalski, 2013; Michalski & Rostoks, 2015), I develop a theoretical framework specifying how sectoral vulnerability concentration, temporal asymmetries in negotiating patience, and normative constraints on economic coercion limit European leverage despite market size advantages. The framework synthesizes insights from bargaining theory, network approaches to interdependence, and EU foreign policy analysis to explain why Brussels repeatedly fails to secure reciprocal market access, technology transfer protections, and subsidy discipline from Beijing. I argue that the strategic partnership paradigm Michalski documented systematically underestimated how structural dependencies would constrain European agency once strategic competition intensified. The theoretical contribution lies in specifying mechanisms through which economic relationships constrain bargaining despite formal market parity, extending weaponized interdependence theory from hegemonic contexts to competitive relationships between major economies. This analysis advances understanding of economic statecraft in multipolar competition and explains persistent gaps between European strategic autonomy rhetoric and outcomes.</span></p> <p><em><span>Keywords:</span></em><span> EU-China relations, asymmetric interdependence, strategic partnerships, economic statecraft, negotiating power</span></p>
format Recurso digital
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language eng
publishDate 2025
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Beyond Strategic Partnerships Asymmetric Interdependence and EU Negotiating Power in Sino-European Economic Relations
Hosseinzadeh, Ashkan
Political sciences
Political power
Political economy
International relations
Strategic Planning/economics
<p><strong><span>Abstract</span></strong></p> <p><span>Why does the European Union struggle to translate its declared "strategic autonomy" into tangible negotiating leverage in economic relations with China, despite possessing the world's largest single market? This paper extends theories of asymmetric interdependence to explain structural constraints limiting EU bargaining power with Beijing. Building on Michalski's foundational research on EU-China strategic partnerships and the optimistic role conceptions that characterized these relationships (Michalski, 2013; Michalski & Rostoks, 2015), I develop a theoretical framework specifying how sectoral vulnerability concentration, temporal asymmetries in negotiating patience, and normative constraints on economic coercion limit European leverage despite market size advantages. The framework synthesizes insights from bargaining theory, network approaches to interdependence, and EU foreign policy analysis to explain why Brussels repeatedly fails to secure reciprocal market access, technology transfer protections, and subsidy discipline from Beijing. I argue that the strategic partnership paradigm Michalski documented systematically underestimated how structural dependencies would constrain European agency once strategic competition intensified. The theoretical contribution lies in specifying mechanisms through which economic relationships constrain bargaining despite formal market parity, extending weaponized interdependence theory from hegemonic contexts to competitive relationships between major economies. This analysis advances understanding of economic statecraft in multipolar competition and explains persistent gaps between European strategic autonomy rhetoric and outcomes.</span></p> <p><em><span>Keywords:</span></em><span> EU-China relations, asymmetric interdependence, strategic partnerships, economic statecraft, negotiating power</span></p>
title Beyond Strategic Partnerships Asymmetric Interdependence and EU Negotiating Power in Sino-European Economic Relations
topic Political sciences
Political power
Political economy
International relations
Strategic Planning/economics
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18153048