How the United States nudged the European Union towards a tougher stand on China
- But Washington could also leave Brussels out in the cold with its biggest trading partner, observers say
US pressure on China has helped tip the scales in Europe towards a much tougher stand on China but Brussels is also bracing for US-China trade war deal that could leave Europe on the economic outer with its biggest trading partner, analysts said.
On Tuesday, in a paper that for the first time labelled China a “strategic rival” of the European Union, the EU proposed steps the bloc could take to overhaul its relationship with Beijing, including in sensitive areas such 5G security and foreign investment screening.
EU leaders will vote on the proposal in the “EU-China – a Strategic Outlook” on March 21.
Analysts said that long-standing demands in the document – including greater transparency over China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” infrastructure projects in Europe, and greater market access for European firms in China – had been amplified by the US administration’s aggressive position on China.
Lucrezia Poggetti, research associate at the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, said the EU’s position was rooted in its own position on China but the China-US trade war was a chance to drive its message home.
