Conclusion

With ten chapters analyzing the relationship of the three players both at bilateral and multilateral levels, we only come to the conclusion that it is very difficult to summarize the nature of their relationship. On some occasions, they are friends, on some others, they are rivals. Sometimes they work as partners in face of common challenges, and sometimes they compete seriously when their interests diverge. It is not a surprise that their leaders shake hands as old friends today and then they point their fingers at each other tomorrow.The chapters in this edited volume provide a comprehensive analysis of the changing dynamics in the EU-US-China interactions. The relationship of the three is characterized by the rise of China, the seeming decline of the US and the EU's soul searching within and outside the 27-member bloc. Needless to say, any change of EU-US-China relations will have significant implications for the making of the global political and economic order. Against this background, the authors in the volume examine this triangular power configuration through different lenses, from global order, international peacekeeping and economic governance, and by doing so try to identify the potential pathways towards an emerging new world order, whether in a cooperative or a competitive framework.