Keen to Screen: The European Union Response to Growing Chinese Investment
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- In March 2019, the European Union adopted a framework for screening foreign direct investments entering the EU. However, the framework fails to grant the European Commission the power to block investments that threaten security or public order, rendering the legislation essentially toothless. Why did the EU decide to pass a toothless regulation on investment screening? This thesis seeks to understand the EU’s motivations for adopting an impotent screening regulation. Using evidence from periodicals, public statements, and interviews with European bureaucrats, this thesis argues that the unparalleled risks associated with Chinese FDI compelled some Member States to push for screening at a European level. With an increasing amount of Chinese investment, particularly in strategic sectors like critical technology and infrastructure, countries like Germany began to comprehend the economic and security threats posed by Chinese FDI. Meanwhile, other states that benefitted from Chinese investment sought to keep Chinese capital flowing and therefore opposed investment screening. Some states also disapproved of screening because they thought this measure was protectionist and antithetical to the EU principle of open markets. To balance these differing stances on Chinese investment, the EU created an empty legislation that would meet the least amount of resistance in a vote. Furthermore, as a volatile turn in transatlantic relations took hold, the EU sought to assert its autonomy from both the rising power of China and its traditional ally the United States. The passage of the screening framework, despite its weaknesses, served as a signal of independence to the international community.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 2019 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Kim, Irene |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Crenshaw, Martha |
| Advisor | Crombez, Christophe |
Subjects
| Subject | Center for International Security and Cooperation |
|---|---|
| Subject | European Union |
| Subject | China |
| Subject | FDI |
| Subject | investment screening |
| Subject | Chinese investment |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Kim, Irene. (2019). Keen to Screen: The European Union Response to Growing Chinese Investment. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/zq685zd6834
Collection
Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses
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- ikim2@stanford.edu
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