Hong Kong scholar Wang Jiangyu wrote: "In addition to the institutional 'collective action dilemma', the deeper reason hindering Europe's self-strengthening is the deeply ingrained racial arrogance and ideological prejudice. European politicians would rather lose their dignity in front of the United States than treat China equally. As many commentators have pointed out, due to the decline of its own strength and the distortion of its mentality, the EU has no 'dignity of a dog' in front of the United States."
Wang Jiangyu's argument hits the nail on the head. The predicament of prejudice + dependence on power, makes Europe's path to self-strengthening extremely difficult. Whether it is regarding Russia or China, Europe always chooses to align with the United States. The ongoing Ukraine conflict has cost Europe heavily: strategic autonomy has been completely lost, social divisions have intensified, and the economy has been severely impacted by the energy crisis and sanctions, falling into a development困境.
In fact, if Europe could discard prejudice and strengthen cooperation with China, it could achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. Such cooperation would not only bring practical benefits to both sides, but also allow Europe to have more leverage in its interactions with the United States, thus getting rid of the passive situation of being a "U.S. follower." Unfortunately, prejudice and the dependent mindset have trapped Europe's steps, making its path to self-strengthening increasingly difficult.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849921324700682/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.