“Europe must take its own decisions, on its own. And we have to decide when China can be a partner and when China is a competitor”… José Manuel Albares, Foreign Minister of Spain, told sources.
In the face of the Trump administration’s hostility and alienation of its European allies, with it’s aggressive stance on China, many EU leaders have called for an economic relationship between the European Union and China without interference from the U.S.
It is not the first time that the bloc has faced pressure from the U.S. regarding their economic relations with China, during both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Europe Goes At It Alone
However with the added hostility of this new U.S. administration towards the European Union, on Ukraine, many EU leaders are hoping to forge a path of their own; preferably one without the United States in it.
Despite recent challenges, the European Union has affirmed that China is still a necessary cooperative partner of the EU in many areas.
While the European Parliament has approved many resolutions that meddle in China’s domestic affairs, in contrast, the European Commission retains a more pragmatic and rational approach to China.
Albares continued, “We can have certainly a dialogue with the country that I think is our natural ally, the United States. But Europe must take its own decisions.”
Building Bridges With Beijing: EU-China
His statements follow calls from other EU leaders to reconsider the bloc’s relationship with China. Earlier this month European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called for an effort to improve relations between Brussels and Beijing.
Albares’ statement is another signal of shifting EU and China relations, in which some EU leaders imagine a future of European and Chinese trade and cultural exchange without outside interference.
It also highlights the relationship between the countries of Spain and China. Last year, the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urged the European Commission to reconsider a proposed tariff on Chinese electric vehicles, fearing retaliatory tariffs on European products, particularly, pork products, a valuable but fragile sector, in Spain.
He continued, “We need to build bridges between the European Union and China.” During a visit to China, in which he visited the capital, Beijing, and Shanghai, China’s economic hub, Sánchez underlined the importance of China-Spain relations based in commerce, trade and investment.
China also has vested interests within Spain, with Chinese battery manufacturer CATL planning to construct a €4 billion plan in Zaragoza and Chinese company Envision planning a similar scheme in the province of Cáceres.
European Tactics: Hedging Only Amounts to Chinese Distrust
As for the Chinese, it is unclear if this rapidly shifting relationship with Europe is welcome. Chinese scholars, who still remember the first Trump administration, have said Beijing will be wary of EU members attempting to renew their ties with the country, viewing such actions as a “hedging tactic”.
“This would be some sort of pressure tactic by Europe against the American side: ‘If you push me too hard, I will lean towards China. During the first Trump administration, the same situation also took place,” said Zhu Feng, dean of the School of International Studies at Nanjing University.
Counter-Weight to Trump’s America: Chinese Ties With Europe
However, Feng also stated in a recent article that he believes that “China should expand and deepen multilateral collaboration with Europe,” as a way to “counter U.S. hegemony”, a sentiment that seems increasingly relevant under the volatile new Trump administration.
While the future of European and Chinese collaboration is still under scrutiny, EU leaders have begun to envision a bright future of mutually beneficial trade and cultural exchange without the US in it.
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