How does Denmark’s China strategy compare to that of others?

As relations between Europe and China have been undergoing fundamental change in the past few years, a new report from European Thinktank Network on China (ETNC) examines and compares each European country’s China strategy. In the report DIIS Senior Researcher Andreas Bøje Forsby has contributed a chapter that asks if Denmark has a China strategy as such, how it is formulated and by whom. The other chapters in the report asks the same questions in order to offer a systematic overview of differences and similarities in European countries’ respective approaches to China at this critical juncture in bilateral relations.

Summary of Forsby’s chapter:
In the absence of an official China strategy, Denmark’s China policy has for many years rested on broad majority resolutions in the Danish parliament, pragmatically acknowledging the importance of the strategic partnership with China. Since around 2018, however, the consensus position has shifted dramatically towards viewing China as a competitor and rival, as also reflected in last year’s Danish foreign policy strategy which for the first time contained a specific China section. In a deeper strategic sense, this transformation has not been guided primarily from Copenhagen, but rather from Washington and increasingly also Brussels. Despite the new Danish government’s intentions to adopt a more pragmatic approach towards China, Denmark’s strategic leeway seems limited in the era of great power rivalry.

Link to the report from ETNC: From a China strategy to no strategy at all: Exploring the diversity of European approaches | Merics

Link to ETNC: European Think-tank Network on China (etnc.info)