EURELATIONS AG

Their core work

EURELATIONS AG is a Zurich-based private consultancy specialising in facilitating science, technology and innovation (STI) cooperation between the European Union and China. Their work spans policy analysis, foresight, and the design of cooperation frameworks that enable reciprocal R&I engagement between European and Chinese institutions. In their more recent project work, they expanded into practical ecosystem-building: supporting startup development, business plan validation, and technology transfer services as part of EU-China centres of excellence. As a participant in EU Coordination and Support Actions, they bring niche EU-China diplomatic connectivity and institutional know-how rather than in-house technical research capacity.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first project (DRAGON-STAR Plus, 2015–2018), EURELATIONS AG was engaged in the upstream, strategic layer of EU-China cooperation: policy analysis, foresight, future scenario mapping, and establishing frameworks for reciprocity. By their second project (ERICENA, 2017–2020), the focus shifted downstream toward implementation — technology transfer, entrepreneurship support, startup incubation, and the establishment of a Centre of Excellence in China. This trajectory suggests a deliberate move from policy dialogue into operational ecosystem-building, from thinking to doing in the EU-China innovation corridor.

EURELATIONS AG appears to be evolving from a policy and foresight consultancy into an operational facilitator of EU-China technology transfer and entrepreneurship — a profile that is increasingly relevant as EU-China STI relations face new regulatory and geopolitical scrutiny.

How they like to work

EURELATIONS AG consistently joins projects as a participant rather than leading them, reflecting their role as a niche contributor rather than a consortium orchestrator. Both projects are Coordination and Support Actions — a format designed for networking, policy alignment, and ecosystem-building — where they bring EU-China connectivity and diplomatic know-how to larger consortia. With 21 unique partners across 10 countries in only 2 projects, they operate in broad, internationally diverse teams, suggesting comfort navigating large multi-party arrangements.

EURELATIONS AG has engaged with 21 unique consortium partners across 10 countries in just two projects, pointing to a wide but not deep network — likely spanning both European institutions and Chinese counterparts given the thematic focus. Their geographic reach extends well beyond Europe into Asia through the EU-China cooperation mandate of both projects.

What sets them apart

EURELATIONS AG occupies a rare niche as a Swiss private SME with dedicated EU-China STI cooperation expertise, operating from Zurich — a hub for international business and finance. Unlike university research groups or large consultancies, they combine policy intelligence with practical ecosystem-building (technology transfer, startup support), making them a bridge actor between the European research world and the Chinese innovation market. For consortia seeking credible EU-China partnership facilitation, they bring both the network and the on-the-ground engagement experience.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DRAGON-STAR Plus
  A flagship EU programme sustaining strategic EU-China R&I dialogue, this project positioned EURELATIONS AG in high-level policy foresight at the EU-China science diplomacy interface.
• ERICENA
  An ambitious attempt to establish a permanent European Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence in China, marking EURELATIONS AG's shift into institutional infrastructure-building for EU-China STI.