Illustration: Liu Rui/GT
This year has witnessed frequent bilateral exchanges between China and the European Union (EU), highlighted by the successful convening in Beijing of the 25th China-EU Summit and high-level visits from several European countries. Amid unprecedented global uncertainty and instability, a growing number of Europeans are increasingly aware of China’s strategic significance to Europe and the critical role of China-EU cooperation in addressing shared challenges.
At the same time, some people in Europe still fail to see the broader trend of the world and continue viewing relations with China through an adversarial lens. For instance, on October 18, Joachim Nagel, Bundesbank president and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, asserted that “China needs Europe more than Europe needs China.” He underlined that the EU represents 450 million people, stating that “we are a strong economy” so the EU “should play the European card in a more offensive way.”
Such statements reflect a mind-set rooted in confrontation, a replication of the US. What is truly needed for Europe is a cooperative mind-set grounded in mutual benefit. Even if the EU ever opts for confrontation, it has chosen the wrong target.
Since the inauguration of the new US administration, calls for “strategic autonomy” within Europe have gained fresh momentum. In response to unilateral coercion from the US, multiple stakeholders, including the European Parliament, have voiced strong dissatisfaction with the European Commission’s conciliatory stance. If Europe truly intends to “play the European card in a more offensive way,” the US would logically become the primary target. Yet the reality is that Europe has been making repeated concessions in its relationship with the US, becoming increasingly entangled in a structural dependency. Even in the realm of economic and trade policy, where it ought to wield greater influence, Europe remains trapped in a reactive position.
Admittedly, the EU possesses certain advantages in terms of population scale and economic foundations. Yet in practice, it has failed to demonstrate the requisite strategic resolve. If the EU’s purported autonomy entails subservience to the US and replicates Washington’s confrontational approach toward China, this constitutes nothing less than a “pseudo-autonomy.”
In recent years, certain European politicians have exhibited increasingly confrontational posturing toward China, challenging Beijing on issues concerning its core and vital interests, disrupting normal people-to-people exchanges and constantly hyping up the “China spy case” to create a chilling effect. In terms of economy and trade, the EU has frequently resorted to protectionist measures, pushing forward “de-risking” initiatives that often contradict the principles of open markets.
Such negative actions toward China are not unrelated to shifts in Europe’s strategic mind-set and sustained pressure from the US. They damage Europe’s image in China, erode the foundation of mutual cooperation, and will inevitably inflict serious harm upon Europe’s own interests.
At present, Europe finds itself in a profoundly difficult position. Its economy stagnates, and fiscal deficits and public debt in major countries continue to climb. Furthermore, governance has become increasingly difficult, with many European citizens dissatisfied with their governments, leading to a surge in support for anti-establishment political parties. Europe’s relationship with Russia continues to deteriorate, forcing the redirection of funds intended for welfare, research and development, and education toward defense expenditures. This, in turn, exacerbates Europe’s economic difficulties and heightens its social and political tensions.
Europe is urged to undertake serious reflection. Blaming third parties, particularly China, for its predicament is clearly neither objective nor rational. Europe does not need superficial or emotionally driven responses, which offer no viable solutions to its current difficulties; it would only plunge it into deeper predicaments. With regard to China, the last thing Europe should have adopted is an adversarial mind-set. Among the world’s major powers, China has been one of the strongest supporters for European integration and strategic autonomy. Europe urgently needs to adjust its approach to China and achieve genuine strategic autonomy at the earliest opportunity.
The author is vice president and research professor of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn