1. About us

The Centre for European Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS) was established in 1997 as a university-level research institution in response to the "China-EU Higher Education Cooperation Programme," jointly initiated by the European Commission and the Chinese Ministry of Education. Contributing to the internationalisation of the university as well as the country, the centre focuses on advancing research and teaching in European Studies while contributing to the high-quality development of China-Europe relations at the national and provincial levels.

In 2009, the Centre for European Studies established one of China’s earliest Master’s programmes in European studies and began enrolling students. Currently, the Programme has four research areas: European Cultural Studies, European Economic Studies, European Politics and Diplomacy Studies, and European Legal Studies. There are 16 master's supervisors at the European Studies Master's programme. To date, the European Master's programme has produced 118 graduates and currently enrols 20 students.

In 2010, the Centre was integrated into Guangdong Institute for International Strategies (GIIS), functioning as an educational and research entity that combines scientific research, student training, and social services. The Centre has been on the list of the Chinese Ministry of Education’s university-level Area Studies platforms, and it achieved an "Excellent" rating in the performance evaluation in 2024.

Currently, the Centre is directed by Yushan Distinguished Professor LI Xing. Its members include Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair LAI Suetyi, Associate Professor LIU Bin, Editor Dr. ZHANG Jian of Journal of Strategy and Decision-Making, Research fellow Dr. YU Qingyi, Post-doctoral fellows Dr. RONG Dan and Dr. Laura Lucie GOGNY JIMENEZ, as well as Associate Professor WONG Weijin from the School of Global and Area Studies at GDUFS.

The Centre attaches great importance to international exchanges. For many years, it has maintained cooperation agreements with international partners, including Université de Cergy-Pontoise and Aix-Marseille Université in France, as well as University of Antwerp in Belgium. In recent years, the Centre established cooperative relations with the Department of Politics and Society of Aalborg University in Denmark, Schiller Institute of Germany, the Belt and Road Institute of Sweden (BRIX), and completed the first phase of the "Eurasian Campus" international talent development programme.

The contact address of the centre is No. 2 Baiyun Avenue North, Baiyun District, Guangzhou City, postal code: 510420. The contact email is esc@gdufs.edu.cn.

2. Publications in recent years

Building upon its strong academic foundation and international collaborations, the Centre has produced significant scholarly contributions in the field of European Studies:

Lai Suetyi, Zhang Li and Martin Holland, “Renewal in time of global disruption: Asia’s expectations of the EU”, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2026: 34(1), pp. 1-12, https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2025.2565317.

Lai Suetyi, Huang Yijia and Chen Xinxin, “Resilient partnership? EU perception and expectation from China”, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 2026:34(1), pp. 43-59,  https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2025.2500390.

Lai Suetyi and Ye Jiewen, “Assessment of EU perception in East Asia: 2006-2022” in Bridging Asia-Europe Relations: Exploring Asia and Europe's Shared Challenges and Opportunities edited by Sameer Kumar, 2025, Singapore: Springer Nature, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-8216-4_8.

Lai Suetyi, Paul Bacon and Martin Holland, “Three Decades on: still a Capability-Expectations Gap? Pragmatic Expectations towards the EU from Asia in 2020”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 2023:61(2), pp.451-468. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13382.

Lai Suetyi and Zha Tingchun, “European Union’s Economic Dependency on China and its Impacts on Different Member States” (欧盟对华经贸依赖及其对不同欧盟成员国影响的辨析, Journal of European Studies《欧洲研究》, 2023:6, pp.1-33, 181. http://ies.cass.cn/cn/periodical/202402/W020240219388027814331.pdf.

Lai Suetyi, “Not seeing eye to eye: perception of the China-EU economic relationship”, Asia Europe Journal, 2023:21(2), pp.137-154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-023-00658-w.

Li, Xing (ed.) China-EU Relations in a New Era of Global Transformation. London: Routledge, (2022) https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003096948

Li Xing, “Conceptualizing China-US Rivalry through the Lens of Globalization in an Era of Changing Structure-Agency Dynamics.” Globalizations, 2025: https://doi.org/10.1080/14747731.2025.2525037.

Li, Xing (2025) “Narrating a Global Order with Chinese Characteristics.”

Contemporary Security Policy, 2026: https://doi.org/10.1080/13523260.2026.2663360

Li Xuan and Li Xing, “Regulating AI in a Fragmented World: The Diverging Paths of the EU and China and Their Impact on Global Governance.” Innovation and Development Policy, 2025: 7, pp.27-47. http://idp-journal.casisd.cn/browse/al/Volume7/Volume7Issue1/202506/P020250724546447047637.pdf.

Wang Weijin and Lu Fengyan, “Zhongyong Reflection on Sino-EU Technological Competition Through Converged Traditions in 21st Century China”, East Asia, 2025:42, pp. 423-449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-025-09452-4.

Yu Qingyi and Tang Danling, “The EU’s Readjustment and its Motivations of the South China Sea Policy under the ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’” (“印太战略”下欧盟南海政策再调整及其动因分析), Journal of Strategy and Decision-Making《战略决策研究》, 2025: 7, pp.105-120. https://giis.gdufs.edu.cn/info/1603/16390.htm.

3. Recent national and international research projects

In addition to its academic publications, the Centre has actively undertaken a number of major national and international research 

projects:

4. In the media

Members of the Centre are actively engaged in public and media dissemination, contributing academic perspectives to public debates and policy discussions through national and international media outlets, such as People's Daily, China Daily, China’s Diplomacy in the New Era, Global Times, CGTN, Politiken, and the South China Morning Post.