“These days, Europe is losing its importance in global politics and the economy,” a law student shouted to the audience during a political TV talk show recently broadcast on Chinese state media outlet Shanghai Media Group (SMG). “Do European elites and the public know about it?”
This question reflects the Chinese public’s perception of Europe’s stagnant economy, dependent foreign policy, and lack of defense capabilities. The European powers still appear to be caving in to Washington and despite intensive efforts, they appear unable to stop the Ukraine war, which is being waged by Russia on their own doorstep.
Additionally, US President Donald Trump has unsettled the transatlantic alliance by threatening to annex Greenland after returning to office in January 2025. NATO alliance integrity This came into question after the Europeans backed out of joining Trump’s war on Iran.
China considers the discord between these two as an opportunity. Beijing sees the future world as multipolar and this shapes its strategy towards its rival superpower. China intends to work not alone, but together with Russia and other countries that are not aligned with the US. But China still believes that Europe can become an independent pole in the new order.
The logic behind this is quite simple. Along with the United Kingdom and France, Europe has two veto votes in the United Nations Security Council. The EU’s single market is extremely attractive for China’s export-oriented economy. This has become increasingly clear in the wake of the trade initiatives initiated by President Trump. And the leadership in Beijing believes that companies from Europe and China can complement each other very well.
Scope of China-Europe partnership
Europe still has a lot to offer in terms of technology. China, on the other hand, has the production capacity to manufacture everything at competitive prices. Economic relations between the two are strong. Beijing is hoping to win the EU as an ally, provided there is political will and enough space between the US and its traditional partners in Europe.
According to Ding Chun, professor at Fudan University and president of the Shanghai Institute for European Studies, the US has used its dominance in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to promote economic programs in Latin America and Europe, thereby strengthening a hegemonic position known as the “Washington Consensus”.
“But times have changed,” Ding said from a forum in Shanghai in mid-April.
He said, “A lot of things don’t work the way they used to, even in Europe. The younger generation in Europe is fed up with the political establishment. Social media makes election results unpredictable.”
China wants to redesign the United Nations
Beijing is already challenging the “Washington consensus” on the global stage.
On 29 April, President of the United Nations General Assembly Annalena Baerbock visited Beijing. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi used his visit as an opportunity to emphasize the need to reform UN institutions and establish the UN as a multipolar world government.
“China is pleased to support you in your continued leadership,” Wang said.
“As a founding member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council, China plays an important leading role in upholding multilateralism, safeguarding international law, and promoting the three pillars of peace, development and human rights,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
As German Foreign Minister in 2023, Baerbock once called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator”.
US-Europe relations in crisis
Vuk Jeremic, former president of the UN General Assembly and now a professor at the prestigious French university Sciences Po, said on the SMG talk show that transatlantic relations were built on the common threat of Soviet communism.
And after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe enjoyed decades of tremendous prosperity, Jeremic continued.
It served as a model for the entire world, showing how to overcome the conflicts and divisions of history, how to move forward together and work toward shared prosperity and a shared future.
“Meanwhile, a lot of things went wrong. The crisis began to escalate,” Jeremic said. He said that American relations have been shaken.
The migration crisis in Europe occurred in 2015 following the global financial crisis of 2007–2008.
“Then came Brexit in 2020 and Donald Trump’s first presidency from 2017 to 2021… The current situation can hardly be described as ideal,” he said.
The ‘China alternative’ for Europe?
Zhang Weiwei, director of the China Institute at Fudan University in Shanghai, said on a talk show that it would be difficult for Europe to “decouple” from the US.
He said Europe has also missed out on developing the tech-driven industries of the future, so-called Industry 4.0. The term, which refers to digital and networked industrial production, was coined in 2011 at the Hannover Messe in Germany.
Zhang said there is no sustainable competitive advantage for Europe if there is not a single European alternative among the top 20 Internet high-tech companies. Only American platforms will be used in Europe, and American companies will own European big data. Europe does not trust Chinese data providers.
“Years ago, people in China believed they could perfect Chinese industry by learning from Industry 4.0 in Germany,” Zhang said. “Today, no one talks about it.”
Zhang said China’s proposal for Brussels is to become an independent, practical partner of Beijing.
“This has to do with the outrageous way Donald Trump has treated Europe since taking office for a second term in January,” he said.
“Right now, Europe is taking stock of its situation and realizing that some of its key priorities are unattainable without economic and technological cooperation with China.”
This article was translated from German