Europe’s balancing act between the US and China is influenced by both sides

EU countries generally consider the US to be their closest ally but do not share all their concerns and priorities with regard to China. The bloc has deep economic ties with China, both as an export market and a supplier. European powers, led by Germany and France, have sought to balance their concerns about Beijing’s growing assertiveness with political engagement.

But in a repeat of the tensions affecting the trans-Atlantic alliance under President Donald Trump, European governments are being forced to choose between their decades-old US alliance and China, which became the EU’s biggest trading partner in goods. Is.

“Our strategy is not a confrontational strategy. It is a strategy of cooperation,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last week when the bloc expressed a new vision for the Indo-Pacific region, including China.

Some in Europe are critical of calls to confront or control Chinese power. Others, more concerned about Russia – such as Poland or the Baltic states – generally share Beijing’s assessment of Washington, but worry that the growing focus on Asia has led to Russia’s fierce conflict with Ukraine, a close ally of Moscow. The political unrest in Belarus and other tensions has stirred up. Eastern border of Europe.

Janka Ortel, director of the Asia Program at the European Council of Foreign Relations in Berlin, said the EU’s troubles stem from China’s lack of clarity about its own objectives, which makes it responsive to US initiatives.

“If China isn’t really interested in cooperation, or is only interested in cooperating on Chinese terms, how do we think we can separate in policy, and not just the US?” he said. “It’s something we haven’t done.” Correctly answered.”

The Biden administration spent its early months talking with Europeans about cooperating against the challenges posed by China’s rise. But last week’s defense pact, known as the Aukus, suggests Washington will seize opportunities to stifle China’s military prowess, even if it means ignoring European interests, European diplomats say. .

Meanwhile, Beijing has paid little attention to Europe’s criticisms of its human rights record and its regional muscular flexibility. Beijing has made it increasingly clear that Europe’s economic interests in China are tied to political ties.

The impact of last week’s AUKUS announcement is still rolling out in Europe, but some diplomats say it is undermining confidence in Washington. Concerns are widespread about how the agreement unexpectedly sunk France’s €56 billion, roughly equivalent to $65.5 billion, in the submarine deal with Australia without any consultation. There are also concerns that the US’s increasing pivot to Asia could undermine Washington’s focus on European security.

However, France’s angry reaction to the announcement – it recalled its ambassadors in Washington and Canberra – is also causing concern in some European capitals. With President Emmanuel Macron facing a presidential election next spring and France assuming the European Union’s presidency in January, some Europeans are pushing to ensure that the argument remains a lasting one in trans-Atlantic relations. Does not cause deep cracks.

“I think it is important to say, given the ongoing negotiations in Europe, that I consider Biden very loyal to the Trans-Atlantic coalition,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksson told Danish media in New York on Wednesday.

Mr Biden moved to quell the rift in a call with Mr Macron on Wednesday, with the US president acknowledging in a joint statement that allies such as France should have been consulted on the defense deal. The two leaders will meet in late October to discuss security cooperation, and the statement underscores the importance of the roles of the French and the European Union in the Indo-Pacific.

Since Mr Biden took office in January, Europe has leaned toward US concerns about China, while trying to strike an independent line. Europe has made an increase in the EU’s naval presence in the Indo-Pacific to protect freedom of navigation, building on an already significant French naval effort to challenge Beijing’s hold on regional sea routes. is building.

The US and the European Union have expanded formal talks about China that began in the last days of the Trump administration. Both Washington and Brussels advocate reforming world trade rules to protect Western economies from unfair Chinese competition. A new US-EU Council on Trade and Technology was planned to start in Pittsburgh next week.

Some of that work is now at risk. France has insisted on delaying the Pittsburgh meeting and diplomats say the three main EU actors in the Indo-Pacific – France, the Netherlands and Germany – test their willingness to work with Washington through the AUKUS deal. Can be done after exclusion.

European officials say France may now intensify its effort to expand the EU’s ability to act independently of the US and other powers on defense and security. Dubbed strategic autonomy, the long-discussed concept has re-emerged following the messy US exit from Afghanistan, although EU member states show little sign of readiness to increase military spending to shoulder the major new military burden.

Mr Macron has already expressed concerns about allowing NATO to focus more clearly on China’s threats.

With Britain exiting the European Union and German Chancellor Angela Merkel planning to retire after Sunday’s German elections, some observers in London and around Europe worry that Mr Macron’s position could harm trans-Atlantic ties and NATO. and can cause stress.

“A partnership works when both sides are honest and truthful with each other,” EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, who is French, said in a speech in Washington on Tuesday. “But trust is not given. And after the latest developments, there is a strong perception that trust between the EU and the US has eroded.”

Meanwhile, the EU’s efforts to protect its economic interests from political tensions with China are facing difficulties.

The European Parliament voted in May to block the approval of an investment agreement reached by the EU and China in December. The deal is intended to expand European access to China’s market and deal with some of the unfair trade practices Europe faces. The EU parliament vote comes after China banned EU lawmakers, diplomats and academics in response to the blacklisting of four EU officials over alleged persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang.

China has pulled its diplomats from Lithuania and demanded the withdrawal of its ambassador to the European Union and NATO member Beijing after Vilnius upgraded the diplomatic status of Taiwan’s mission to the country. Tensions are also rising between the Czech Republic and China over the European country’s emerging ties with Taiwan. Last month, Nicolas Chapuis, the French ambassador to the European Union in Beijing, was publicly attacked after former Chinese foreign ministry officials criticized China’s diplomacy towards Europe.