GOOD MORNING FROM LONDON 10 JUNE 2021
President Biden hopes to persuade the EU to criticise China re allegations that China is persecuting the Uyghurs; cracking down on protestors in HK; militarily coercive in the S China Sea + economically coercive against Australia.
His latest executive order to turn the screws on China relate to health+genetic data of Americans + this week the Senate passed a bill to provide $250bn to help the US maintain a competitive edge over China in Artificial Intelligence + Quantum Computing.
The EU is less keen to be part of an overt anti-China alliance. As Bonnie Glaser, a China expert, writes “there is a persistent concern in Europe that the US is too confrontational”. And another, Eric Sayers says that the US is “moving to a period of more sustained action + implementation.” For the US, China is the Challenge + therefore China is the Enemy”. The EU does not agree.
EU Business wants more of China. EU Parliamentarians want less of China. The US is the same. Politicians and Business have different priorities. The stage is set for a long period of confrontation not cooperation between China + the US. Tensions will rise. Skirmishes will occur. Brinkmanship is high up on the agenda. Uncertain times lie ahead as the US slips to #2.
The EU does not feel the same pressure. It has never been #1 + does not aspire to be #1. The mindset of the US is quite different from the mindset of the EU. The US/EU are not “tight”.
