Abstract: With the rise of China and tensions surrounding it, China studies, which has until very recently been regarded as a small and exotic academic discipline ("orchid subject"), could well see a boom in Europe—were it able to adapt itself to the new circumstances. There seems to be, however, very little capacity and flexibility in the field of China studies to train professionals with specialized inter- or multi-disciplinary knowledge. Based on interviews with China scholars in Hungary, Germany, and the Netherlands, this article investigates the position of China studies in these EU member states in light of the recent changes of China's place on the world stage. It offers a glimpse into the perception of trends and their causes within this field of study, and discusses what would support the move toward applicable and interdisciplinary knowledge production in this field.
Ágota Révész (2026) studied this question.