EU and China: trade or strategy

In 2018, the EU and China celebrated the 15th anniversary of the proclamation of a comprehensive strategic partnership. In 2003, when they decided to increase the level of bilateral relations, both did not claim a global role. China pursued a policy of refusal to join any alliances. The EU was content with the role of an economic giant and did not seriously discuss the issue of creating its own armed forces. At the beginning of the 21st century, EU leaders tried, and often successfully, to teach the Chinese to trade in the open market. Today it is a dialogue of two equal partners. Beijing even surpasses Brussels in promoting alternative world development models. Today, in terms of trade volumes, the EU and China are respectively the first and second in the world, and the volume of trade between them is second only to the volume of trade between the EU and the United States. Today in the EU they speak increasingly about European army, whereas the Chinese think about a "Great Chinese dream". The article does not give a clear-cut answer about proximity of such goals, but tries to outline the framework of their possible implementation.