Most Europeans would want to stay neutral in a US-China war over Taiwan, study finds
- Across 11 nations, just 23 per cent said they would prefer to side with the US, according to European Council on Foreign Relations poll
- Europeans are also ‘reluctant to de-risk from China – even if they recognise some risks in China’s economic presence in Europe’, researchers say
Just 23 per cent of people across 11 countries would want to take the US’ side, with 62 per cent wanting to stay neutral.
The poll was part of a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations, which shows that many European citizens (43 per cent) continue to view China as a necessary partner with whom they would like to cooperate – more than any other category.
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“European citizens aspire to remain neutral in a US-China conflict and are reluctant to de-risk from China – even if they recognise some risks in China’s economic presence in Europe,” the researchers wrote.
The study comes amid a lively debate about how the European Union should engage with China.
In Brussels, policymakers are putting together an economic security strategy, to be proposed on June 20, which will recommend ways of weaning the European economy off Beijing in areas where dependencies are mounting. It will advance the bloc’s first moves in screening companies’ investments into China, a controversial move that has riled businesses and some member states who want to continue trading freely.