China and the Belt and Road Initiative in Europe: The case of Portugal

Multilateralism and Soft Power Made-in-China: (re)Adjusting Role Conception to Meet International Expectations

“…Finally, multilateralism seems to be a tool to help China dissipate Sinophobia worldwide, promote a multipolar world while forging the narrative of an active country in South-South cooperation, and be a prominent actor for Global Governance [44], which preaches a 'win-win solution' to foster collective security and durable peace. China's multilateralism can sometimes take the shape of a more selective multilateralism, which Ferreira-Pereira and Duarte (2021) [29] call "multilateralism à la carte". This is the case with the EU-China Strategic Partnership (SP), whose effectiveness has been questioned by Maher (2016) [46], who argues that the latter has been more a normal and common partnership than a strategic one.…”

“…China, which had previously been unsuccessful in advocating for the reform of Western institutions, ultimately garnered the sympathy of a considerable number of Western states. In addition to several EU countries, other Western chose to join the AIIB [29].…”

“…As a response, Beijing adjusted its strategy by establishing a specific mechanism to advance its interests within a group of countries that perceive advantages in cooperating with China outside the framework of the EU-China SP. The 16 + 1 platform can be viewed as a form of "multilateralism à la carte" [29], shedding light upon China's extraordinary ability to adapt to diverse realities and simultaneously explore the diverging views among European countries to effectively maximise its goals. In summary, leveraging the EU's lack of cohesion in numerous geopolitical matters, China employs a strategic approach that prioritises multilateralism when engaging with the EU as a whole through the EU-China Strategic Partnership (SP).…”

“…Simultaneously, China resorts to a "multilateralism à la carte" strategy with Central and Eastern European countries via the 16 + 1 platform. Additionally, China tends to favour bilateral frameworks when dealing with individual countries such as Portugal [29] or Greece.…”

Portugal in the European Union

“…This has not been without politico-diplomatic consequence for the country's relations with its European peers and Brussels-based institutions. Yet, references to this topic in the literature are still thin on the ground Ferreira-Pereira and Duarte, 2021), calling for more systematic scholarly enquiry.…”