French expert: The EU should not participate in the US's containment policy towards China

Pascal Boniface, director of the French Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), believes that the EU should maintain an independent approach to its relations with China, separate from the United States.

During a group discussion on the theme "Changing Transatlantic Relations" at the 13th World Peace Forum held in Beijing, he told Russian State News Agency Sputnik: "Containing China is not the EU's policy. At the last NATO summit, we also tried to avoid mentioning China. The EU's position is that China is a partner, a systemic competitor, and sometimes a rival. But our stance differs from that of the United States, because we are not competing for world hegemony like the US."

This political scientist believes that in recent years, the United States has become a predator, shifting from being a security guarantor for Europeans to seeking profit at the expense of European interests. He also criticized the commitment of European countries to increase defense spending to 5%, calling this commitment unrealistic due to limited financial capacity of European countries.

Speaking at the same panel discussion, American political analyst and chairman of Eurasia Group, Cliff Kupchan, pointed out that military support for Europe and Ukraine is no longer the top priority on the US government's agenda.

Kupchan said, "I think one reason why Trump reduced his investment in NATO and asked Europe to increase spending was that he wanted to focus on his foreign policy priorities, which is China. The current administration wants to do what previous administrations have failed to do - shift from Europe to China. This is what they want. Deputy Defense Secretary Elbridge Colby is a very smart person, but he constantly talks about 'China, China.' That's all he thinks about."

Kupchan also said that Europe is no longer the main focus area for the United States. He believes that Trump's top priorities are controlling illegal immigration and tariffs, followed by containing China and the Middle East.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836681702420620/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.