The Indo-Pacific Strategy: adjusting the EU’s regional role in the context of China’s rise

The Indo-Pacific region accounts for two-thirds of global economic growth and 60% of the world’s population. However, despite its economic dynamism, the region is also home to some of the most complex security challenges of our times, not least the US-China rivalry. The EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, released in April 2021, reflects the EU’s determination to be more present and contribute to the stability of the region. 

How does this strategy relate to the US-China rivalry and the EU’s relations with China? How does the Indo-Pacific strategy build on previous EU policies towards the region? What’s next after the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy?

Our speaker:  Cristina de Esperanza Picardo is a Research Assistant at EsadeGeo, an Asia Pacific Analyst at El Orden Mundial (EOM) and a Young Leader at the Pacific Forum. Previously, she completed two traineeships at the EU Institute for Security Studies (Asia desk) and at the EU Delegation to Australia. Cristina graduated in International Relations from the Rey Juan Carlos University, Madrid, and holds an MSc in Strategic Studies from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

Our moderator: Patrizia Cogo is the President of European Guanxi and she is currently a master's student in International Relations, Security and Development at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She holds an LLB and a Bachelor in Global Governance from ESADE Business & Law School. After her exchange programs in Jerusalem and New Delhi, she worked as an intern at the Elcano Royal Institute, the Embassy of Spain in Rome and as a Junior Research Fellow at IEMed.