China–Germany Youth Dialogue: The Roles of China and Europe in a Multipolar World

On 12 November 2025, Grandview Institution and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) jointly hosted a China–Germany Youth Dialogue under the theme “The Roles of China and Europe in a Multipolar World.” The dialogue featured Peter Fischer-Bollin, Director of the Analysis and Consulting Department at KAS; Arend Wulff, Head of the Political Section, Embassy of Germany in China; Dr. Huang Ying, Lecturer at the Institute for Regional and Global Governance, Beijing Foreign Studies University; and Dr. Lian Chenchao, Lecturer at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China. More than seventy students and young scholars from leading institutions including the China Foreign Affairs University, University of International Relations, Tsinghua University, and Peking University took part in the event.

Speakers highlighted that the European Union has established its role as a “normative power” in international affairs through the creation of diverse rules and standards. Meanwhile, China’s rise has increased its ability to represent the Global South in advancing institutional reforms. Although China and Europe differ on what kind of international order should be built and on specific approaches to practicing multilateralism, both attach great importance to international norms and share a firm commitment to the UN system and the principles of international law. In the current political context in the United States under the Trump administration, China and Europe to some extent share more common ground on global governance than Europe and the United States, and both continue to play constructive roles.

Speakers recommended that China and Europe should jointly uphold global strategic stability and prevent a new Cold War; strengthen cooperation on UN reform-related agendas; and engage in dialogue on climate change, artificial intelligence, and other common challenges. At the same time, cultural and educational exchanges should be de-geopoliticized, allowing cooperation to focus on cooperation itself. In particular, the two sides should promote deeper engagement among young people and cultivate “China literacy” in Europe and “Europe literacy” in China through systematic programs, building a bridge of mutual understanding and laying a foundation for reducing prejudice, strengthening trust, and advancing cooperation.