直到二○○五年初，歐盟與中國關係的總體氣氛仍是相當樂觀，有人甚至認爲一個嶄新的「歐洲－中國」軸心正在形成，而歐盟對中國的武器禁運將會最終取消。但最近五年，歐洲與中國的關係卻充滿爭論與競爭，儘管合作仍是主調。隨著主要歐洲國家領袖更替，比如德國的默克爾總理及法國的薩爾科齊總理上臺，之前希拉克總統及施萊德總理執政時期歐中關係的「光芒」已逐漸消失。新領袖對中國的人權狀況及西藏問題等較具批判性，也對歐中貿易不斷增長的赤字勇於表露不滿。本文旨在研究中國如何在歐洲統治者設想歐洲前景時扮演一定的角色，並考慮四大因素：全球化對歐洲的意義、亞洲的區域化趨勢、中國的「和平崛起」以至「和平發展」、以及亞歐關係中的多邊主義。文章還會探討歐洲與中國如何考慮合作前景，兩者的合作及衝突對未來國際政治秩序帶來的政治涵意，還有在各個領域阻礙雙方合作的種種困難。

Until the beginning of 2005, the “mood” in EU-China relations was generally optimistic, boasting that a new “Europe-China” axis was in the making, and the arms embargo might be lifted eventually. During the last five years the relationship between these two powers has been full of controversy and competition, though cooperation remains the main theme. With the change of leaders in the major European powers, notably the advent to power of Angela Merkel in Germany and Nicholas Sarkozy in France, the lustre that could be found in Europe-China relations during the days of Chirac and Schroeder gradually faded. The new leaders are more critical on the issue of human rights in China, the Tibetan problem etc., and also appear to be more ready to voice their dissatisfaction over the growing trade deficit with China. This paper will focus on whether and how China could play a role in the minds of European policy-makers in mapping the future of Europe, taking into consideration four contextual factors: the implications of globalization for Europe, regionalization efforts in Asia, the “peaceful rise” or the subsequent “peaceful development” of China, and multilateralism in Europe-Asia relations. The paper aims to investigate how political leaders in Europe and China think and proceed on the prospects for cooperating with one another, the political implications of their cooperation and conflict over the future international political order, and the difficulties ahead that might interfere with cooperation in various fields.