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The president of the United States, Donald Trump, hopes to greet British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the west wing entrance of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 27, 2025.
Carl Court | AFP | Getty images
Tensions between the United States and Europe have reached somewhat low in recent weeks, and China could be prepared to use the dispute to strengthen their relations on the continent.
Transatlantic strains were directed last week during a disastrous meeting between the president of the United States, Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval office. What began as a possible signature of a critical mineral agreement ended in a party of public shouts.
Trump has also made repeated threats of tariffs on EU imports and said the block was “formed to fuck the United States.” Vance, meanwhile, criticized Europe last month at the Munich Security Conference, saying that he was worried about “the threat from the inside.”
This tension in the so -called “special relationship” has seen Beijing become an unexpected ally and defender of Europe, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, visiting the continent last month to urge the closest ties and more cooperation.
“China clearly responds with an offensive of charm, trying to portray itself as a stabilizing force and a possible alternative pole, exploiting European fears and waiting for a restart in Beijing’s own terms,” said Alicja Bachulska, a member of the European Board of Foreign Affairs policy, to CNBC by email.
After both the EU and Ukraine were without surprise of peace conversations led by the United States with Russia, said Wang At the Munich Security Conference, which China expects all parties to participate in peace conversations to end the war in Ukraine. “As the war is carried out in the European soil, it is even more necessary for Europe to perform its part for peace,” he said in the comments informed by Reuters.
For Beijing, expressing its support for the role of Europe in the peace negotiations of Ukraine is a “low cost form” to indicate its respect for the EU and “contrast with Trump”, according to Gabriel Wildou, managing director of Teneo.
“China aims to obtain strategic influence on Europe, as evidenced by its investment and trade policies. Incursions in the context of Ukraine should be evaluated in that light,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the political risks consulting Eurasia Group, to CNBC by email.
No longer ‘slaves’ for Americans
As Trump doubles in protectionist policies, analysts say that China can win from a Europe free of the United States to impose sanctions and restrictions against Beijing.
Historically, it has historically aligned with US commercial policies designed to protect Western technological innovations and their economic interests.
Take the manufacturer of Dutch chips equipment ASMLfor example, whose sales of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment have been restricted by the Dutch government Following US export controls.
“A lot of Europe’s supplication in China was at the request of the United States that, in a sense, it is part of the price of being subjugated … and depending on the United States for defense,” said David Roche, Quantum Strategy strategist, CNBC in a call.
“Europeans can be beaten (by possible tariffs), but they will no longer be slaves for Americans,” Roche said.
Therefore, a fractured transatlantic alliance could benefit Beijing, since Europe becomes “less susceptible” to the pressure of the United States, said Wildou de Teneo, which can lead to a reversal of existing export controls or at least the arrest of new ones.
Europe needs help
An example of a change in commercial policy could be the current European Union tariffs on Chinese vehicles, according to Wildou, who said that block leaders could conclude that “they have no other option” but to reverse the course.
The European automotive industry has been under increasing pressure While car manufacturers fight with multiple winds against which range from transition to electric vehicles, China’s growing competition and now the threat of US tariffs.
Chinese cooperation could help Europe to manufacture the necessary pieces for its EV, allowing the block to catch up with technology and meet its sustainability objectives, Roche suggested, and this is a gap that China could fill.
“The reality is that, in the broadest sense of the word, Europe has to look for alternative markets for the US China. Uu can help,” Roche added.
The recent movements of President Trump have stirred leaders in Europe, with Friedrich Merz of Germany narration The public broadcaster is a speech after the victory of her party last week that the United States is now “indifferent” to the destiny of Europe, and that its priority is that Europe “achieves the independence of the United States.”
“Merz’s comments will not go unnoticed with Beijing”, “Theos Papasavvas, founder and investment director of ABP Invest, told CNBC by email:” The key question here is whether the traditional commercial relationship of Germany with China would also be seen in the same vein by other member states. “
It is still the same China
However, some analysts say that it is not clear how much progress can be done to repair what has been a tense relationship between Europe and China.
“After all, this is still the same China with which the EU had to deal in recent years: China that supports Russia, China that threatens the industrial power of Europe and China that imposes sanctions on European officials and civil society organizations,” Bachulska of the European Board of Foreign Affairs said.
Bremmer de Eurasia Group added that, in the end, Beijing’s efforts to restore relations with Europe are aligned with their broader objective to weaken West as a whole by undermining the link between Europe and the United States.
“Europeans will not be far from the USA by transactional policies adopted in Washington, but openly hostile, predators,” he said. “If that trend continues, transatlantic partners are directed towards a division.”
