Cuyckens, Hanne --- "The EU and China: Emerging Global Powers Capable of Balancing US Hegemony and Shaping a New World Order?" [2012] ELECD 926; in Wouters, Jan; de Wilde, Tanguy; Defraigne, Pierre; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe (eds), "China, the European Union and Global Governance" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: China, the European Union and Global Governance

Editor(s): Wouters, Jan; de Wilde, Tanguy; Defraigne, Pierre; Defraigne, Jean-Christophe

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781004265

Section: Chapter 19

Section Title: The EU and China: Emerging Global Powers Capable of Balancing US Hegemony and Shaping a New World Order?

Author(s): Cuyckens, Hanne

Number of pages: 14

Extract:

19. The EU and China: emerging global
powers capable of balancing US
hegemony and shaping a new world
order?
Hanne Cuyckens

INTRODUCTION
The world order that has emerged since the Cold War is characterised by
US hegemony. Even though some authors believed that the distribution of
powers among states and other international players following the end of
the Cold War was going to lead to a more balanced world order, US
hegemony had been showing no signs of decline. The financial crisis has
strongly reminded us of the extent to which the post-Cold War world is
increasingly interconnected and interdependent. An increasing number of
issues can no longer be tackled by a single country alone. US dominance
has been more and more put into question by an increasing number of
emerging global powers, such as the EU and China. These two actors
strongly believe that a more balanced multipolar system will provide for a
more secure and stable world. More concretely, recent events, such as the
global financial crisis and the negotiations at the Copenhagen climate
change conference, have shown a possible geo-strategic shift in the world's
balance of power.
In this chapter the question is raised as to whether the EU and China,
who are both emerging global actors, are capable of balancing US
hegemony and shaping a new world order. In order to do so, it is useful to
first give a brief overview of the legal framework of EU­China relations.
Then both actors' ...