Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
Hengu Wang
Whenever I reflect on Europe’s development challenges and the state of Sino-European relations, I can’t help but think of China’s most famous science fiction novel. China’s rise, especially its rapid advancements in military and technology, has reshaped the global landscape. Yet, after a year of studying in Europe, I feel as if I’ve stepped into a different world: many Europeans, including scholars, still view China through outdated stereotypes and political narratives. This cognitive gap is more than an obstacle to dialogue and cooperation; it risks Europe missing the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and could even heighten the threat of global military confrontation.
1. Europe’s Misreading of China
This past summer, I attended an academic conference in Vilnius organized by the Lithuanian Research Council (LMT). On the way back, a local friend cautiously asked, “How do you see China-Lithuania relations?” When her tone became so hesitant, my subconscious had already picked up on her question. This was not an isolated moment. At a previous academic dinner, I joined a conversation with a scholar from Taiwan (ROC), only to be interrupted by a local attendee. She praised Lithuania’s “friendship” with Taiwan. When I added that “China was among the earliest Asian countries to recognize Lithuania’s independence, and historically its relations with the Soviet Union were tense,” she responded in disbelief: “That can’t be true.” I smiled politely, letting the conversation end. These interactions made me aware of the deep information gaps between China and Europe.
2. Misreading China’s Global Strategy
From my observations, whether in Lithuania or across the EU, interest in China is limited. Europeans, from professors to students to the public, often rely on outdated or biased information. Even those studying China often portray it as a threatening authoritarian state: the provocateur in the Taiwan Strait, a supporter of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, or “another Soviet Union.” Such simplifications are not only convenient, but they are also dangerous.
The reality is far more complex. China’s relationship with Russia is driven by security concerns and strategic calculation. Historically, Russia occupied and split 1.5 million square kilometers of Chinese territory, committing mass atrocities in border regions. To this day, China and Russia have found it difficult to reach agreements on issues such as access to the Tumen River estuary, energy pricing, and automobile imports. The uneasy ties over energy, border and trade show that Beijing and Moscow cooperate not out of value-based trust, but from realistic and urgent strategic necessity.
Yet China understands that fully aligning with Western sanctions against Russia would not earn trust, cooperation, or a peaceful resolution to territorial unity issues. Extreme pragmatism dictates limited cooperation with Russia to secure energy, food, and strategic security buffers, a logic largely ignored by European narratives dominated by fear and prejudice.
3. Knowledge Asymmetry and China’s Transformation
Equally striking is the asymmetry of knowledge. China’s students are often well-versed in European literature, history, and geography: from France’s The Last Lesson to the Baltic “Forest Brothers” and “Baltic Way,” from Norway’s fjords to its oil and gas industry, topics Chinese students encounter in secondary school. Yet Europeans often display vague, superficial, or even condescending understandings of China. Europe tends to reduce China to a “distant communist country,” ignoring its internal complexity and multi-layered reality. This asymmetry is worrying.
Obviously, such assumptions are absurd, just as it would be to deny that human effort and ingenuity built the pyramids. China’s four decades of reform and opening-up have made it the world’s second-largest economy, and by purchasing power parity, the largest. The country boasts world-class tech companies, DeepSeek, TikTok, Huawei, BYD, DJI, and in AI, 2024 private sector investment reached $9.3 billion, while the UK invested $4.5 billion; during the same period, China developed 15 significant AI models compared to Europe’s 3, demonstrating efficient conversion of research into results. Behind these figures lie enormous domestic R&D spending, nearly $780.7 billion in 2023, compared with the EU’s $504 billion, and sustained policy initiatives, from employment prioritization and science-driven development to rural revitalization and large-scale infrastructure construction.
These changes are visible in daily life. On Chinese streets, electric vehicles are gradually becoming mainstream, with 2023 sales accounting for nearly 60% of the global total, while Europe’s transition remains slow. China’s high-speed rail network exceeded 48,000 km by the end of 2024, far surpassing the EU’s 8,556 km at the end of 2023. The differences in daily experience made my arrival in Europe feel uncomfortable, especially the prevalence of exhaust fumes from traditional vehicles.
In contrast, students from Africa and Asia I met in Europe often asked probing questions about China’s development model, displaying insights sometimes sharper than my own. This made me realize that genuine curiosity and understanding of China’s progress are often lacking in the EU.
4. The Danger of Misreading China
This knowledge gap is not harmless. It encourages Eurocentrism, fuels hostility toward China, and exacerbates geopolitical tensions. Misunderstanding and simplification can easily manipulate European discourse and policy. Meanwhile, China’s understanding of Europe is far more nuanced. This asymmetry erodes trust and complicates potential cooperation.
One must question whether Europe is seriously prioritizing development. Europe’s lag in AI and renewable energy is particularly concerning amid intensifying Sino-American competition. Failures such as Sweden’s Northvolt battery plant, delays in Baltic rail projects, and Britain’s high-speed rail highlight structural inefficiencies.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution requires scale, capital, and technological diversity, areas where China has already built mature ecosystems. Projects such as BYD’s factory in Hungary and Turkey illustrate not merely the export of overcapacity, but the transfer of technology and industrial know-how that Europe’s green transition cannot afford to ignore. In contrast, the United States has undermined the interests of its allies and global trade through its trade war against EU.
The ongoing Sino-American race accelerates the Fourth Industrial Revolution. China faces its own challenges, rising youth unemployment, plummeting birth rates, and the spiraling issues in real estateand deflation—but continues its transformation. If Europe persists in treating China with arrogance and indifference, it risks not only missing opportunities to understand China but also losing the chance to shape the future order. As The Death’s End reminds us: “Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival, but arrogance is.” In this rapidly transforming world, Europe’s greatest risk may be self-neglect rather than China’s rise.
5. Mutual Truly Understanding Is Key
Finally, mutual understanding is fundamental to preventing conflict. On September 3, 2025, China commemorated the 80th anniversary of its victory in the War of Resistance. While many interpreted the event as a display of threateningly rising military power, it is worth remembering that China’s victory was also a crucial part of the Allied success in the East. Historically, China and Europe were allies who endured humanity’s darkest moments together, paving the way for long-term peace. China has always also held expectations that the EU will play an important role in promoting a multipolar world order.
Today, humanity stands at another crossroads. China’s rise and Europe’s security concerns must be addressed through deep dialogue and interest alignment. Only by sincerely considering each other’s security and developmental stakes can the post-war international order, centered on the United Nations, be sustained.
Europe doesn’t need to share China’s worldview, but it must seek to understand its reality. Misreading a partner, or “a rival”, of such scale is to misread Europe’s own future. Even if tensions cannot be avoided, we must at least ensure that arrogance and misjudgment do not lead us into the unforeseen, unprecedented and unacceptable disaster.
