US and EU ‘never been more aligned’, including on China, Taiwan and Russia, say senior diplomats

US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and her EU counterpart, Stefano Sannino, express concern about Beijing’s ‘provocations’ in the Taiwan Strait

They also speak of shared worries about human rights in China, ‘including in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong’

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Stefano Sannino and Wendy Sherman in Washington in December 2021. Photo: US Department of State

Published: 5:38am, 3 Dec 2022Updated: 5:44am, 2 Jan 2023

Washington and Brussels have “never been more aligned” on their strategic priorities towards China, senior diplomats from the US and EU said, reversing earlier signs of cross-Atlantic divergence on Beijing.

A joint statement on Friday after two days of talks in Washington between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and her EU counterpart, Stefano Sannino, the European external action service secretary general, said the two sides aimed to “further reinforce” their bilateral strategic partnership on China and in the Indo-Pacific region.

“They affirmed that the United States and European Union have never been more aligned on our strategic outlooks,” the statement said.

The two sides expressed concern about Beijing’s “provocations that increase the risk of crisis” in the Taiwan Strait, the document stated.

They also “reiterated their serious concerns about the human rights situation in China, including in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Hong Kong” and “affirmed everyone around the world has the right to peacefully protest, mindful of the ongoing protests in China”.