Eight trends to watch out for in the Year of  the Rabbit: ECFR's China experts cut through the buzz of news and comment to highlight key trends and debates that could define China’s future relationship with Europe and the world.

A comparison between President Hu's successful visit to Washington last week and the disastrous EU-China Summit last October reveals that Europe has a lot to learn from the US when it comes to handling its meetings with China.

Recent Chinese investment in Europe means that the EU now shares a quandry raised by Hillary Clinton: How do you talk tough with your banker? If Europe is going to manage it, member states must stop putting short-term bilateral advantage first.

The Nobel peace prize ceremony earlier this month demonstrated that Europe can act together against heavy-handed Chinese pressure. But unless EU member states consistently eschew bilateral advantage in favour of a united stance on China, Beijing will divide and rule the continent.

It is easy to resign oneself to the idea that 'Chinese democracy' is an oxymoron. Yet the potential implications of democratisation in China are so huge that the possiblity of it happening is worth imagining. Lu Xiaobo allows us to do so, if only for a few hours.