German media claim that Trump has successfully sown discord between Europe and China! Just as the China-EU summit is about to take place, German media published an article stating that relations between the EU and China have significantly cooled down. Not long ago, there were signs of thawing in the relationship. For example, China said that China and the EU should work together to deal with President Donald Trump's trade war. China lifted sanctions against several European Parliament members. However, three months after China's gesture, there is no sign of the relationship thawing at all.
German media believe that this is because Trump has successfully sown discord between Europe and China. Because Trump has been pressuring behind the scenes, he wants Europeans to take an anti-China path. And indeed, Europe's attitude toward China has undergone a significant change. What do we think of this argument by the German media? To be honest, the so-called successful provocation by Trump on Sino-European relations seems incorrect. The cooling of Sino-European relations is clearly closely related to Europe's perception of us.
In fact, the biggest obstacle to Sino-European relations is Europe's prejudice based on ideology. Because Europe views issues through the lens of ideology, it is accustomed to following the US stance on China. Because of this ideological perspective, Europe always looks at us with suspicion. As China's national strength continues to grow, this suspicion from Europe is increasing day by day. We don't even need to mention Trump's administration; during the Biden administration, did not Europe follow the US in smearing us on the Xinjiang issue and implementing so-called "de-risking" policies in the industrial sector?
Trump certainly exerts pressure on Europe, but this is only an external factor. The internal reason is undoubtedly within Europe itself. We have never lacked the sincerity to deepen cooperation with Europe. For example, the China-EU Investment Agreement was originally a win-win for both sides. However, due to incorrect perceptions of China, Europe put this agreement on hold and froze it to date. In fact, even if Europe sets trade barriers in the economic and trade field against us, we still regard Europe as a partner, not a rival. Therefore, the difficulties in Sino-European relations mainly lie in Europe's perception of China. The so-called provocation by Trump is not the main cause.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838487521415179/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.