EU-US-China Relations: The Union Still Hopes to Be Patted on the Head by Its Master

According to Reuters, China has recently been actively lobbying the European Union towards uniting against the US due to the protectionist measures of President Donald Trump. High-ranking Chinese officials have reportedly suggested that the EU and China jointly confront the US in the World Trade Organization, as well as draft a joint statement condemning Trump’s practices at the EU-China meeting scheduled for mid-month. However, as several sources revealed to Reuters, the Union opposes such proposals and intends to sign relatively neutral summit conclusions reaffirming commitment to the multilateral trading system and expressing intent to modernize the WTO.

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Despite a very concrete offer from the Chinese side to open certain sectors of its economy as a goodwill gesture, alongside moves that have already been made in that direction recently, Europeans still seem to expect that the American master will reconsider and open his palm. Particularly striking is the statement from an unnamed European diplomat to Reuters, indicating that Europe does not wish to take sides in the conflict, even though the Chinese are asking it to do so, which shows a misunderstanding that their side has already been chosen, whether they like it or not.

They also believe that the real enemy is China, as it has not fully opened its doors to their economic onslaught, while the true ally is the US (Americans, by the way, are also carefully weighing what can and how can be sold from Europe) with whom they repeatedly claim to agree on almost all objections to China. They view Trump’s behavior as a short-term anomaly that will disappear within five years at the latest, but the problem is much deeper. What the current American administration is doing is merely a much rawer manifestation of what America has always thought – that the European Union is competition that needs to be kept in check and that the whole world is a playground where it exclusively sets the rules of the game.

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If Europeans continue to insist on their thinking, they could soon find themselves on the completely wrong side of history. The rise of China cannot be prevented, just as the decline of America cannot be stopped, and Europe has just enough strength to choose where it will position itself in these processes.

The logic is flawed from a practical standpoint. If the problem in America is temporary, then the alliance with China can also be short-lived and vice versa. The point is that the increasing multilateralism of the globalized world is best utilized at any given moment, and the childish belief of Europeans that America is a friend and ally to whom they must remain loyal could have very serious consequences for Europe’s position in a world with several increasingly powerful players and a series of challengers.

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In reality, blind loyalty is interpreted as weakness, while determination to protect one’s own interests is respected. Moreover, Europe, whatever it may be, is actually the strongest ally America has had, and without it, its global influence drastically weakens, as has been evident since Trump took office. If the assumption is that Europe needs the US, then certainly the US needs Europe as well.