Introduction

On 9 June 2022, a defining moment occurred when the European Parliament adopted a resolution declaring that China's counterterrorism policy in Xinjiang amounts to crimes against humanity and represents a significant risk of genocide. The narratives surrounding human rights violations associated with China's effort to combat extremism have had significant implications for the deepening of EU– China relations. Within the economic sphere, these narratives have played a pivotal role in resulting in the suspension of the EU– China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. The discussions revolving around China's counterterrorism policy in Xinjiang have reinforced China's portrayal as the ‘other’ and have further exacerbated tensions between Europe and China.

However, the impact of such narratives extends beyond the economic realm, also affecting security cooperation. The narratives of counterterrorism in China have reinforced the perception of China as a potential threat to European values and security interests. The narratives have also raised concerns regarding potential risks associated with intelligence sharing and other collaborative efforts.

This chapter builds upon existing literature on EU– China security cooperation and explores the potential prospects for collaboration in a multilateral setting. It acknowledges that the narratives surrounding counterterrorism in China have hindered substantive security cooperation between the EU and China and narrowed the scope for cooperation despite the shared concern regarding terrorism. The focus on both European and Chinese narratives allows us to examine how actors ‘draw on familiar scripts and themes to make sense of changing context’ (Freeman and Révész, this volume; Freeman, Feldmann and Langendonk this volume).