ISDP Co-hosted the ICES Inaugural Annual Conference in Brussels
June 22, 2026: On 10 and 11 June, ISDP participated in the inaugural Annual Conference of the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES) in Brussels. Convened by ICES and co-hosted by ISDP and two other partners, the conference brought together leading diplomats, academics, and researchers for critical dialogues on EU-China relations amid great power competition and global order reconfiguration.
The ISDP delegation included Niklas Swanström, Executive Director of ISDP, together with Maud Descamps and Yifei Zhu from the Stockholm China Center. In addition to participating in the conference panels, ISDP also contributed to the preparation and organization of the event.
On the first day, Niklas Swanström moderated the opening panel, “Redefining Economic Security and De-risking.” The discussion moved beyond de-risking as a policy buzzword to examine practical approaches to economic resilience, including the tensions that arise when national security considerations increasingly shape industrial policy.
On the second day, Niklas Swanström spoke at Panel 3, “Advancing EU-China Relations through Ocean Stewardship.” The panel shifted the discussion to maritime governance and the global commons, including cooperation and tensions across the South China Sea, the Arctic, and critical chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz. Swanström highlighted the Arctic as an area where Europe and China still have valuable scope for cooperation, particularly in research, environmental protection, and sustainable maritime governance. At the same time, he noted that differing interests, strategic perceptions, regulatory approaches, and the Russia factor continue to complicate practical cooperation.
The two-day conference also addressed the impact of US-China strategic competition on EU-China relations, as well as the role of narratives and cultural contexts in shaping mutual perceptions.
Notable participants included Joanna Szychowska, Director for Asia, Services and Investment, Digital Trade, Intellectual Property and Public Procurement at the European Commission’s DG Trade, who stressed the need for realistic and results-oriented dialogue to address trade frictions and economic asymmetries. Fei Shengchao, China’s Ambassador to Belgium, also joined the discussion, highlighting that China and Europe have no structural reason to become existential rivals and should manage economic competition constructively.
