This article examines EU-China relations with regard to two key renewable energy sectors, wind and solar. It finds that, although there have been sources for trade disputes in both sectors, trade frictions have surfaced most prominently in the solar sector. The reason is a double imbalance between the manufacturing and deployment of solar panels, both geographically (with China producing the bulk of solar panels almost exclusively for export) and numerically (with structural overcapacity). Yet, the image of a zero-sum bilateral trade war over solar panels is exaggerated, because there are both opponents and proponents of trade defense measures in China and the EU. The study further argues that the solar dispute is part and parcel of a global wave of clean energy trade frictions and it explores pathways to settle the issue through the negotiation of a multilateral agreement on environmental goods and services.

Contemporary violent conflicts are mostly internal in nature. The serious humanitarian consequences that they often cause belong in principle to the internal affairs of the sovereign state in which they occur. Since the 90s, however, the international community is playing an increasingly important role in addressing the humanitarian consequences of internal conflicts. What kind of a partner is the West, meeting in this field with China? From the perspective of identities and role conceptions, this article highlights the Chinese debate on the principle of non-interference in internal affairs. This decades old cornerstone of China’s foreign policy is under discussion as a result of China’s rise, which is raising expectations of a more active role of China, including conflict management. This article examines the changing self-images that lead to the search for a new Chinese role but also points to the enduring influence of older role conceptions. The empirical focus is on Africa, with examples from Chinese policy toward some recent african complex crises.

China’s outward investment policy has attracted attention not only for policy reasons, but also in academic debate on the role of source-country institutions in foreign investment. Formal institutions in the form of government policy and regulations have been central to China’s outward investment. This paper is based on a detailed analysis of Chinese policy and regulatory documents, which provide evidence of the motivations, substance and outcomes of investment policy. The paper argues that the factors determining investment policy are complex and evolving, and that elements of the policy may not be coherent and can be conflicting. It also argues that unintended outcomes are frequent, and that enterprises, including state-owned enterprises, attempt to escape the constraints of government policy and regulation. Thus, the relationship between institutions in China and enterprise behaviour is complex, and is not simply one of restriction or promotion of outward investment.