Mind the Perception Gap: Chinese Responses to EU De-Risking

Strategic autonomy has become a central objective of EU external economic policy, with de-risking serving as a key instrument through which the EU seeks to assert this autonomy by mitigating vulnerabilities amid intensifying trade wars. China has long been viewed as supportive of EU strategic autonomy, yet whether such support extends to the EU’s de-risking agenda remains unclear. Drawing on role theory and perceptual approaches, this article introduces an analytical framework to assess perception gaps between an actor’s self-image and external perceptions and applies it to examine the EU’s role projections and altercasting of China in the context of de-risking, as well as their validation by Chinese perceptions. It shows that, on the one hand, the EU uses de-risking to project itself as an autonomous actor vis-à-vis the United States, a defusing force in Sino–American competition, and a norm broker in economic governance, while implicitly altercasting China as an equal, normatively aligned, and responsible partner expected to act constructively in trade-war dynamics. On the other hand, Chinese perspectives contest these role claims and altercasted images, framing de-risking as a US-led containment strategy, rejecting its stabilising function, and denying its normative legitimacy – revealing clear limits to China’s support for EU strategic autonomy.