António Costa (President of the European Council), Xi Jinping (President of the People's Republic of China) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) meet at the EU-China Summit in July 2025
EU-China

MERICS Europe-China Resilience Audit 2025

European countries have made only limited progress in strengthening resilience-building measures and reducing vulnerability towards China over the past year. This is the conclusion from the 2025 MERICS Europe-China Resilience Audit. The audit maps China-related vulnerabilities and resilience-building measures based on 98 indicators, covering eleven European countries. 

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US-China

"According to US sources, China has agreed to suspend the newly announced export controls on rare earths for at least one year. We do not know exactly which of China's measures are affected and how. The US has indicated that the suspension applies 'globally' – but risks and uncertainty remain: licensing will continue to be necessary and subject to conditions. And the suspension of export controls is to be renegotiated annually. The US had to offer significant incentives to get the controls off the table – the EU may be neither willing nor able to do so. China will demand increased supplies of high technology and at the same time will not be impressed by European discord."

Handelsblatt
Party and State
Meet our Experts
HelenaLegarda

Helena Legarda
Head of Program

China’s defense and security policies; Chinese foreign policy, geopolitical competition and risk

Antonia Hmaidi

Antonia Hmaidi
Senior Analyst

Geopolitics of technology; semiconductors; data science; hacking

Christina Sadeler

Christina Sadeler
Senior Analyst

State-society relations and public debates; Institutional change; Social and environmental policy 
 

KatjaDrinhausen

Katja Drinhausen
Head of Program

China’s legal and governance system; social credit system; human rights

NisGrünberg

Nis Grünberg
Lead Analyst

State-party relations; elite politics; China’s sustainable development

Alexander Davey

Alexander Davey
Analyst

CCP political discourse and organization; party-state policymaking; social policy and development

Geopolitics
Calendar of key party and state meetings

The Fourth Plenum of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee wrapped up and we now await the next Five-Year Plan which will officially be published in March 2026. Party-state meetings give us a different perspective than economic figures; they paint a general picture of the internal landscape based on how much emphasis continues to be on industry, innovation and high-tech and how far reforms on socio-economic issues are developing (or not). Dig deeper to contextualize and better understand how Beijing makes policy decisions and see where the country might be headed. Check out our calendar of party-state meetings. 

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CCP Calendar of key party and state meetings
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping (from right to left) during a meeting ceremony in the Kremlin.
Russia-China

The China-Russia Dashboard

The China-Russia Dashboard monitors the economic, political, security, and societal dimensions of China-Russia relations and their changing quality over time. The results are presented in interactive graphics and analyses.

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Topics

Think Tank Toolbox

Check out our Think Tank Lab Toolbox - it is a learning resource for all think tankers aiming to enhance their skills and learn about the latest developments in think tanking practice. It offers useful material for different think tank departments, from analysis, communications to HR management. 

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