近期發展顯示，歐盟在經濟方面的角色日漸衰弱，政治方面則是日益崛起，最顯著的證明即是歐盟對外行動署（EEAS）的對外行動。布魯塞爾扮演愈來愈重要的角色，例如科索沃以及塞爾維亞之間的問題；會員國樂意將敏感的政治議題，像是人權問題「外包」給布魯塞爾；新里斯本條約幫助歐盟滲透如防衛等高階政治。與此同時，歐盟作為一個經濟聯盟的形象正在衰敗。成員國相爭與新興國家簽署貿易協定，突顯歐洲領導人依舊找不出解決經濟危機的辦法。此篇文章藉由歐盟與中國的歷史關係比較，利用三個假設去驗證歐盟行為改變的因素。本文旨在針對21 世紀的第二個十年，增加關於歐盟角色的理解，並將歐中關係概念化。

Recent developments point out that the EU is a rising political player and a declining economic player. The evidence is notably related to the European External Action Service (EEAS). Brussels plays an increasingly important role in solving high profile political disputes, such as between Kosovo and Serbia; the member states are happy to ＂outsource＂ politically sensitive issues such as human rights to Brussels; and the new Lisbon competences help the Union to penetrate even the highest of politics, namely defense. Meanwhile, the image of the Union as a united economic bloc is crumbling. Member states increasingly compete for trade deals, such as with emerging countries; after all, European leaders still have no remedy for the economic crisis. By means of a historical comparison of EU-China relations, this paper tests three hypotheses to figure out the fundamental driving forces of the apparent change in EU actorness. The results of this research shall make a twofold contribution: on the one hand, they should add an understanding of the EU’s actorness in the second decade of the twenty-first century; on the other hand, it should help conceptualizing EU-China relations.