While Blinken blinks on betterment of US-China relations, the EU promulgates Cold War II?

What is striking is that the US and EU don’t seem aligned at this point in time. Blinken’s recent visit in Beijing went super well creating fertile ground for catching up US-China relations and making them stronger, with both sides leaving ample space for betterment and restoration of the fragile ties of the world’s biggest economies. Given that usually the EU echoes Washington, one would expect that after Blinken’s visit Brussels would be more of a sweet talker about China. On the contrary though. How so?

It is either the EU is not caught up at all given the summer time lurking ahead, or the EU turns course as slow as a vessel in the middle of the Atlantic. Apparently, while the US has been trying to convince the EU to go anti-China for months, by the time the EU bureaucracy writes/edits/issues its Cold War II doctrine, Washington’s Blinken already blinks the other way, expressing eagerness to explore normality in the cooperation with China. Awkward?

Sure, there is a fair share of awkwardness here, which also illustrates a huge difference between the US (one country) and the EU (not one country but wanna be US). The country of the US can spend time propagating the world against China and then a day after DC might say that now given the economy and all it is more interesting to pursue a healing approach with China, just like that and without notifying anybody of course. On the other hand, the Brussels consortium of the EU, that takes always the US messages dead-serious, took much time for bureaucracy to digest all anti-China messages, took Easter leave, paternity leave, and then draft, edit, clear and publish yesterday an anti-globalization manifest which, as the US desires, makes the EU super suspicious of all and nothing.

Most of all, the EU’s new doctrine, which had been long promised to Washington although the latter changed course by the time this got published, is like shooting one’s leg at the pleasure of somebody else (US). Will the EU rubbish this wonderful document now that the US changed their mind? No, the EU will discuss this next week at the Summit, trying to convince all fragmented EU stakeholders that in 2023 a new Cold War, which will cost the EU a lot of euros, is the right way forward. Good luck with that.

This document, also known as the de-risking manifest, underscores a wide array of risks, from supply changes and energy, to cybersecurity, technology and economic coercion. All those risks reflect on Russia because it declared a war to Ukraine but also China, because this is what the EU thinks the US wants, although Washington in the end changed its view.

This pinnacle Strategy of Cold War II, also identifies a three-pronged super introvert approach, focusing (only) on Single Market, setting security tools and policies to make the EU much more introvert, and doing business with others (in lieu of China) through the ambitious Global Gateway. However, this looks more like a bad replica of Washington notes than a new EU Strategy for growth. This clearly is a framework to police trade growth and opportunities and shrink the EU economy so that the US makes a buck.

Most importantly, the diverse EU member states and more so the important ones like France, Germany, Italy will never adhere to the new EU Middle Ages. The powerhouses of the EU need fertile ground for their super businesses to make euros, they do not need a fishing net to confine their “Confidustriae” and lose competitiveness and profits. So, next week in Brussels will be amusing in the sense that the Commission will be told that this piece of document needs to be changed as much as Blinken changed his stance against Beijing.

What happened just here though is a revelation of how the US administration works. They call on the world to go against China, the EU obeys blindly and works hard to please DC and write a piece of document to try to convince L’Hexagone and the rest to go Cold War II, and the very moment this happens, Blinken blinks to China that they can always rely on Apple and Coca-Cola for trade and stuff. This is seriously disturbed.

But the biggest problem of them all is not this document; it is that sadly the EU doesn’t have its own strategy. Therefore, it is pragmatic to expect again in the future this kind of puppet show, which make no mistake will always come at the cost of the EU’s businesses and the European citizens overall.