bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

How passion and tech resurrected China’s headless statues, and unearthed historic wrongs

Xi tells Biden he’s ‘ready to work’ with Trump, but warns against US-China decoupling

Apec calls for enhanced free trade, climate action in final statement

Social media skits encourage Americans to sip Chinese tea

US-China relations

US-China tensions: the European states caught in the middle

News

China

Knowledge

US-China Relations

Diplomacy

China-US tension: Portugal feels Washington’s ire as Beijing comes wooing with an eye on strategic Azores

Washington’s ambassador to Portugal said last month that the time had come for Lisbon to “choose between its friends and allies, and China”. Illustration: Henry Wong

TERCEIRA ISLAND, PORTUGAL:  An undated file picture taken in March 2003 shows a US Air Force plane landing on the Base das Lajes, a US military base in the Portuguese archipelago of Azores. The CIA carried out three direct flights between Portugal's Azores archipelago and the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where Washington holds terrorism suspects, daily newspaper Diario Economico reported 06 September 2006.     AFP PHOTO/ JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUES  (Photo credit should read JOSE ANTONIO RODRIGUES/AFP via Getty Images)

Young man at Sete Cidades lake in The Azores

The Pentagon cut spending in Portugal as China stepped up with keen interest and investment.


The Czech Republic’s relationship with China? It’s complicated

China’s ambassador to Prague has called Czech President Milos Zeman “an old friend” of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE=== A picture of Zdenek Hrib. Photo: Facebook

President Milos Zeman is one of China’s most enthusiastic supporters in Europe, but critics have raised concerns about human rights, trade practices and Taiwan.


US pushes Greece to stop acting as China’s ‘dragon’s head’ into Europe

Greece may be on the fringe of the European Union geographically, but it has become a key focus in the intensifying scramble for global influence. Illustration: Henry Wong

Port of Piraeus and Athens

epa08645708 Greek Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) welcomes director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Yang Jiechi (R) during their meeting in Athens, Greece, 04 September 2020. EPA-EFE/LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / POOL

Mike Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State, right, reacts, as he meets, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece's prime minister, in Athens, Greece, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019. PompeoÂ failed to meet a House subpoena deadline on Friday to produce Ukraine-related documents, CNN reported, citing an unidentified House foreign affairs committee aide. Photographer: Yorgos Karahalis/Bloomberg

Athens under pressure in scramble for influence between Washington and Beijing with high-level visits from both powers.


Serbia gets Washington’s attention as China builds influence in Balkans

Illustration: Kuen Lau

A lorry drives along a road close to the steel factory near the Serbian town of Smederevo on April 4, 2019. - In the Serbian steel town of Smederevo, 54-year-old mill worker Zoran Matic thanks "the Chinese -- or as we call them, our friends," for rescuing a factory that was on the brink of bankruptcy before China's HBIS group bought it in 2014 for 46 million euros ($52 million at current rates). From coal plants to airports, bridges and IT, China is forking out for investments across the Western Balkans, laying groundwork for a new battle for influence on the EU's fringe. (Photo by OLIVER BUNIC / AFP)

US President Donald Trump (C), Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti (R) and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (L) listen to US Vice President Mike Pence during a signing ceremony, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on September 4, 2020. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)

Donald Trump’s deal with Serbia and Kosovo hints at greater US spending in a region where China has invested billions.


As US-China rivalry intensifies, European states have found themselves caught in the middle. The Post looks at how countries on the continent are responding, ranging from anti-China, to China-friendly, and those trying to walk a line between Washington and Beijing.


European Union

Belt and Road Initiative

China-EU relations

Series