‘Europe is ready’ to team up with Joe Biden on China

EU foreign policy chief says the South China Sea, China’s unfair trade practices and security are potential areas of transatlantic cooperation

United States and European Union need to agree on how to manage the rise of the Asian giant, former EU envoy says

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There are early signs of a transatlantic alliance taking shape to confront the challenges of China. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:00pm, 10 Nov 2020Updated: 10:17am, 29 Dec 2020

European officials will soon contact the team of US President-elect Joe Biden to work together on China policies, in early signs that a transatlantic alliance is taking shape to tackle Beijing.

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Monday that “we are ready” for a Biden administration to engage the EU on joint action against the challenges posed by Beijing.

The call comes just days after Biden claimed victory in the US presidential election, in which the incumbent, Donald Trump, has refused to concede, citing electoral irregularities.

“There are many areas where EU-US cooperation has to be very close,” Borrell wrote on his official blog.

“We can ... foresee an interest by the incoming Biden administration for close cooperation on China and the challenges it poses in terms of unfair trade practices, security and other issues where we both have concerns.

“Formulating a coherent and robust China stance is at the top of the agenda in Washington and something on which there is bipartisan agreement.

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