The speed with which the narratives of China and Europe and their relationship have changed in just a few short years has been shocking, even for many of us who research the interaction of two of the most important global actors. True, much has happened in these past few years. The world has lived through a financial crisis, a pandemic and many wars, and even Europe has come to realize that it is no longer an island of peace. These uncertain times that we live in have destroyed many old points of reference. Moreover, the disconcerting and traumatizing twists and turns of the early 21st century have accelerated a change that is perhaps even more profound and far-reaching: the return of superpower confrontation between the US and China at a time when global economic, technological, political and military balances are in a state of flux. As Europe is also implicated in these geostrategic tensions, the ways in which Europe and China view each other are being redefined.

It is this change that the present volume aims to analyse from the point of view of narratives. Its four editors and most of its authors were members of the working group ‘Public Diplomacy and Knowledge Production’ of the China-in-Europe Research Network, an action of the Cooperation in Science and Technology programme (COST) of the European Union. The volume has grown out of two workshops and several discussions about the ways meaning is constructed about China and Europe, and the new dynamic between the two. We were eager to understand the processes of collective sense-making: as European societies adjust to the re-emergence of Cold-War-like global tensions, it was obvious that narratives about Europe and China merit special attention.