New paper by the ICBSS Director General: The ‘China Shock’
21 April 2026
A new paper with title "The ‘China Shock’" by ICBSS Director General, Mr. Georgios Mitrakos, was included in the recent collective report, titled "The EU and Asian states: Towards a sustainable cooperation. Opportunities for Romania", published by the Institutul European din România - European Institute of Romania.
The paper argues that China’s rapid rise as an industrial, shipping and trading superpower is creating a ‘China shock’ for the European Union. The trade deficit between the EU and China is growing, Europe’s competitiveness and exports are declining, while, at the same time, geopolitical tensions are inhibiting trade, leading to deindustrialization, and putting pressure on the EU to take measures in order to protect its economic and geopolitical power.
This collective report continues the series of collective studies published by the European Institute of Romania, and is the seventh volume focused on regions of strategic interest for the European Union, after those on the future of Europe, the relations between the European Union and the African Union, the Three Seas Initiative, the South Caucasus and Central Asia and the wider Black Sea region.
Read the ICBSS Paper HERE
Read the full EIR report HERE
For the previous reports HERE
The ICBSS and EIR have signed a Cooperation Agreement to strengthen cooperation through joint events, publications and trainings, knowledge exchange and research in pertinent issues for the wider Black Sea region.
