The book“The European Union and China’s Belt and Road”has been published this week, edited by Vassilis Ntousas, Senior International Relations Policy Advisor at the Foundation for European Progressive Studies and STL Associate Professor Stephen Minas. The book is published by Routledge and features chapters by scholars and practitioners based in both China and Europe on various aspects of the EU’s engagement with the BRI.
In the section on “Discerning the BRI and its Intersections with the European Union”, C.V. Starr Professor of Law Francis Snyder has contributed a chapter on “The BRI Kaleidoscope: European Legal Pluralism and BRI Soft Law”. In this chapter, Professor Snyder examines legal and other normal elements of relations at the levels of EU law, Member State law and through the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (16+1).
The new book has been welcomed by a range of experts on EU-China relations and global economic governance. Among these, former World Trade Organization director-general and EU trade commissioner Pascal Lamy has noted that “this volume brings together an impressive range of contributors, who all provide much needed, nuanced, in-depth analysis on such a critical topic. This is a truly essential resource for all those interested in understanding the evolution of both the BRI — China’s signature foreign policy venture — and European approaches to it.”
Commenting on the book’s publication, Dr Minas observed: “Producing a book on a ‘moving target’ such as the changing BRI and evolving EU responses to it was an intriguing challenge. I am grateful to all authors, including our dear colleague Professor Francis Snyder, for contributing their wisdom and expertise to this undertaking.”
