China-EU trade (Photo : Getty Images)
Donald Trump’s current stance on globalization and trade negotiations is pulling China and the European Union closer than before, an article by Reuters reported.
China has already made clear its position as a staunch defender of globalization and is looking at other countries to form an alliance with.
“Trump is pushing China and Europe together,” an EU diplomat based in Beijing told Reuters, adding that climate change, trade, and the United Nations are some of the key areas the two world powers are collaborating on.
Some senior EU diplomats also believe that a joint effort on business issues between China and the EU, particularly on investment flows, is on the horizon. The same cannot be said for European business groups, most of which grow dissatisfied with China’s market policies.
Still, diplomats are confident a change is on the way. One evidence is China’s decision to forego the image of being a state-driven economy in its public campaign toward the EU.
The shift makes it harder for EU states to place tariffs on Chinese imports, which, according to judges from Brussels, are already cheap, to begin with.
“The market economy status issue, if it raised at all now, is being discussed at a very low working level,” one diplomat told Reuters. “That is part of the charm offensive.”
According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, China is highly interested in cultivating a strong relationship with the EU.
“We hope that the EU can genuinely place an importance on China’s reasonable concerns and interests,” said Hua.
Although the protectionist policies of the Trump administration are one of the primary forces behind China’s new calculations, the EU remains wary of China’s intentions. This is mainly due to issues such as China’s steel exports, Xi’s stronger brand of authoritarianism, and the militarization of islands located in the South China Sea.
