Awakening to China's Rise

Europe has long adopted a 'business-first' approach to China, but it no longer has that luxury. The broad set of national security challenges which various Chinese actors pose to European interests are increasingly apparent. They exist inside China, throughout Europe, and across the Indo-Pacific region. In this very carefully researched and well-written assessment, Hugo Meijer provides a granular and much needed exposé of these threats. This superb study fills an important gap in the literature, and should be read by European government policymakers, intelligence and national security officials, journalists, and policy experts. * Professor David Shambaugh, George Washington University (USA), and editor of China & the World *
In this meticulously researched and engaging book, Meijer documents a pivotal shift in the international politics around China's rise - how France, Germany, and the United Kingdom have transformed their approach to China. As Meijer shows, shared security concerns about China's behaviour in the Asia-Pacific and its inroads into Europe's strategic sectors produced a dramatic shift in their threat perceptions of China and policy responses. A terrific contribution to the literature. * M. Taylor Fravel, Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology *
Challenging the idea that major European powers have been driven by a mix of greed and naïveté in their relationship with a rising China, Hugo Meijer draws upon a breathtaking range of primary sources to show how - across Europe - China is being reviewed as the geopolitical challenge of our time. A reference in the field for years to come. * Alessio Patalano, Professor of War and Strategy in East Asia, King's College London *
In this thorough, meticulous study Hugo Meijer shows how, over the past decade, France, Britain, and Germany have responded to China's increasingly aggressive behavior, both in the Asia-Pacific and closer to home in Europe itself. Americans who seek closer trans-Atlantic cooperation in dealing with China's rise need to understand how their major European allies assess the challenge and have sought to meet it. Meijer's new book is the place to start. * Aaron Friedberg, Professor at Princeton University and author of Getting China Wrong *
This is an excellent survey of how Europe's three major powers have attempted to deal with the consequences of China's rise. It shows how the focus on economic issues in the first two decades after the Cold War gradually gave way to security concerns and to an increased emphasis on working with the United States in managing Europe's relations with China. * Odd Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University *
This monograph is a significant contribution to international relations and national security studies and deserves a wide audience among policy makers. * Choice *
Awakening to China's Rise fills the gap in scholarly understanding of how major European powers have adjusted and responded to the so-called "rise of China."... The book will appeal to both academic and policy audiences interested in Sino-European relations and is well-positioned to serve as supplementary reading material for undergraduate and postgraduate courses concerned with European foreign policy, "global" China, and the evolving global political and security landscape. * Dragan Pavlićević, The China Quarterly *