Professor Ming Du：The Theory and Practice of De-risking Economic and Trade Relations with China

 

On the evening of December 22, 2025 (Beijing Time), Professor Ming Du from the School of Law, Durham University, UK, delivered the eighth and concluding lecture of the international series Cutting-edge Issues in China’s Foreign-related Rule of Law to teachers and students of the School of Foreign-related Rule of Law at Nanjing Normal University via Tencent Meeting.

 

In this lecture, Professor Du focused on “The Theory and Practice of De-risking Economic and Trade Relations with China”, discussing the background, drivers, practical measures and multiple impacts of de-risking, as well as reactions from the Global South, multinational corporations and other actors, and China’s response paths, bringing the series to a successful conclusion.、

 

 

At the opening, Professor Du started from a macro background, pointing out that in the current major-power competition landscape, the US and EU have profoundly repositioned their economic and trade relations with China. Citing the latest US National Security Strategy report, he stressed that the tone of China-US “major-power competition” remains unchanged, but the mode of competition has seen three shifts: first, a redefinition of China’s strength as a “near-peer competitor” for the first time; second, a narrowing of competitive regions to two key areas—Asia-Pacific and Latin America; third, a focus on economic and technological fields with weakened ideological narratives. The EU adheres to its triple 定位 of China as “partner, competitor, and systemic rival”, yet the competitive dimension has become increasingly prominent amid overlapping crises.