Embracing the dragon? Europe's major powers and the rise of China

How have Europe’s major powers – the United Kingdom, France and Germany – responded to China’s growing assertiveness? The common view is that they continue a strategy of “engagement” towards Beijing. However, by tracing their respective patterns of “security alignment behaviour” towards the two rival great powers, the United States and China, we find that despite some variation each of the three powers has responded to China’s growing assertiveness by strengthening its security engagement in the Asia-Pacific and by closer aligning their security policies with the United States and its allies and partners. Political and economic engagement with China is now complemented by security policies designed to contribute to efforts to restrain China’s strategic behaviour. However, this policy choice is likely to create greater costs for Europe’s major powers in the future as the Asia-Pacific is becoming even more contested and the costs of standing up to China increases.