China’s Emergence as a Global Security Actor

China has dramatically expanded its global presence as a security actor. China projects its military power far beyond the Asia-Pacific region, it shapes the security agenda in international organizations and it forges its own security partnerships in different parts of the world. The Chinese leadership has abandoned its decades-long international restraint and today claims a major share in the design of the 21st century global security order.

In their new study “China’s Emergence as a Global Security Actor – Strategies for Europe,” researchers from the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) examine the ways China establishes itself as a major global security actor and what this means for Europe. They argue that China’s activities increasingly affect core European interests. In Europe and its immediate neighborhood, in Central Asia and Africa, China has the potential to become a partner, but it will also act as competitor and adversary to Europe.