EU-China relations in the context of USA-China competition

In this study, the reflection of the global competition between USA and China on the relations between European Union (EU) and China has been examined. Contrary to the unipolar structure and the new order that emerged after the Cold War, the existence of a multipolar system has been examined in this study. This study has been designed to understand the US – China competition from a different perspective. EU – China relations have been tired to put forward this competitive and important approach. The thesis has been constructed using the soft power approach of realist/neo-realist theory and the interdependence approach of liberal/neo-liberal theory. Political discussions with economic statements have been examined and interviews were made with academics. In addition, published news, theses, articles and related books were used as data. As a result, the economic data generally support the interdependence approach, and the other data support soft power security approach. It is understood that the states, which produce economically based policies according to the realist/neo-realist scheme as a result of the analyses act with soft power and want to pursue a balance policy towards each other. As a result, China is considered to act as a political actor by acting in this way in the international system obtaining economic power at this level. Therefore, in order to look at China's struggle with the US from a different point of view, its relations with the EU have been evaluated in this study.