Europe-US resolve on China proves short-lived ahead of key meetings in Beijing and Washington
- Most EU countries ‘don’t want to have to choose’ and ‘don’t want a world that is split into two camps’, says the bloc’s top diplomat
- European governments have criticised Washington’s economic and China policies, and its leaders are scrambling to meet with President Xi Jinping
In the weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, after combining to deliver a lightning-fast blitz of sanctions, European and American officials spoke glowingly of a silver lining: the war had brought them closer together than they had been in years.
At the same time, mutual invective was directed towards Beijing, which refused to condemn the February invasion and in the weeks leading up to it, declared a friendship with Russia that had “no limits”.
For many, the expectation was that this new geopolitical Europe would move closer to Washington’s more hawkish China policy. As recently as last month, EU leaders agreed that China was now more of a competitor than a partner, and that the bloc as a whole needed to reduce its reliance on the Chinese economy.
But in recent weeks, the transatlantic bonhomie has worn off.
02:38
Berlin stops Chinese companies from investing in German chip makers over security concerns
European governments have been taking potshots at US economic and China policy, while its leaders have been scrambling to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping after the end to his near three-year absence from face-to-face diplomacy.