- China
- US Foreign Policy
- Confronting and Competing with China
Host Dr. Elizabeth Economy interviews Noah Barkin, senior advisor with the Rhodium Group, about the evolving EU-China relationship following their July 2025 summit celebrating 50 years of diplomatic ties. Barkin traces Europe's awakening to the China challenge and China's designation as a "systemic rival" in 2019, explaining how the EU has developed its own distinct approach to managing Chinese economic competition. The conversation explores why China's strategy of leveraging Trump-era U.S.-Europe tensions to drive a wedge between allies has largely failed, with Europe maintaining its critical stance on issues like Chinese overcapacity and support for Russia. Barkin discusses the different approaches among EU member states, the significance of China's rare earth controls, and Wang Yi's surprising admission that Beijing wants to keep the U.S. "distracted" with the Ukraine war. Drawing on his expertise from Berlin, Barkin offers insights into whether Europe can maintain unity on China policy and what tools the EU needs to address the growing economic and security challenges posed by Chinese behavior.
Recorded on July 29, 2025.
WATCH THE EPISODE
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Noah Barkin is a Senior Advisor in Rhodium Group’s China practice, based in Berlin, where he focuses on Europe-China relations and transatlantic China policy. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow in the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and creator of the popular "Watching China in Europe" newsletter. Previously he worked as a bureau chief, regional editor and Europe
correspondent for Reuters, based in Berlin, Paris, London and New York. He has also written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, Foreign Policy and Politico, as well as leading European publications. Barkin is a regular speaker and moderator on European foreign policy issues, is quoted widely in the press, and is the author of a book on the euro. He has been a visiting fellow at the Mercator Institute for
China Studies in Berlin and the American-German Institute in Washington. A native Californian, he has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and French from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Elizabeth Economy is the Hargrove Senior Fellow and co-director of the Program on the US, China, and the World at the Hoover Institution. From 2021-2023, she took leave from Hoover to serve as the senior advisor for China to the US Secretary of Commerce. Before joining Hoover, she was the C.V. Starr Senior Fellow and director, Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She is the author of four books on China, including most recently The World According to China (Polity, 2021), and the co-editor of two volumes. She serves on the boards of the National Endowment for Democracy and the National Committee on US-China Relations. She is a member of the Aspen Strategy Group and Council on Foreign Relations and serves as a book reviewer for Foreign Affairs.
ABOUT THE SERIES
China Considered with Elizabeth Economy is a Hoover Institution podcast series that features in-depth conversations with leading political figures, scholars, and activists from around the world. The series explores the ideas, events, and forces shaping China’s future and its global relationships, offering high-level expertise, clear-eyed analysis, and valuable insights to demystify China’s evolving dynamics and what they may mean for ordinary citizens and key decision makers across societies, governments, and the private sector.
