US-China Relations
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, on February 12. Von der Leyen has pledged to lead a “geopolitical commission”, where reinforcing the EU’s role as a relevant international actor is a key priority. Photo: Reuters
Opinion
Li Xing
As US-China rivalry sharpens, the EU must strike a pragmatic balance between its values and interests
Facing both US exceptionalism and Chinese assertiveness, Europe must vigorously defend its own interests in security and other areas
And, as a defender of liberal idealism, the EU also wants to uphold the values and norms it historically and culturally shares with the US
President Joe Biden’s favorite tag line—“America is back”—featured prominently in his video address to the Munich Security Conference last week. It is a welcome message in Europe after Donald Trump’s presidency, but Biden is returning to a trans-Atlantic alliance marked by new uncertainty and division.
April 2, 2021 last updated 16:22 ET French President Emmanuel Macron, right, attends a videoconference meeting as U.S. President Joe Biden appears on a screen, Paris, Feb. 19, 2021 (pool photo by Benoit Tessier via AP Images).
America Comes and Goes. Trans-Atlantic Tensions Are Forever
“First thing I’m going to have to do, and I’m not joking,” candidate Joe Biden said last September in a campaign interview about America’s European allies. “If elected I’m going to … get on the phone with the heads of state and say America’s back, you can count on us.”
In the end, he delivered his franchise tag line not by phone, but in a video address to a “special edition” of the Munich Security Conference during his first round of trans-Atlantic diplomacy last week. And he added a slight twist: “America is back. The trans-Atlantic alliance is back.” .
Amid calls for autonomy, EU looks to improve ties with US
After ties deteriorated under the Trump administration, the EU is hoping transatlantic relations can be reinvigorated under Joe Biden. But with increasing calls for the EU to enhance its own clout on the world stage, any new relationship is likely to have new ground rules.
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Nathalie Tocci at the Munich Security Conference, February 2019 (Photo by Mueller/MSC).
Nathalie Tocci on the Future of EU Ties With the U.S. and China The Editors Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021
The trans-Atlantic relationship has suffered during the four years of Donald Trump’s presidency, largely due to Trump’s hostility toward the European Union, which he saw as a trade competitor, and toward the NATO alliance, which he saw as a costly liability. The tensions that have arisen under Trump have made the debate in Brussels and across the EU over European strategic autonomy all the more urgent, especially in the past year.