The European Union’s foreign policy will soon be under new management. While Ursula von der Leyen will carry on as European Commission president, there will be a new president of the European Council and a new foreign policy chief.
They will inherit an unenviable agenda that includes dealing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. But when it comes to determining Europe’s place in the world, how they respond to an increasingly aggressive China will be the most important question.
Although Europe once hoped for a future in which China would gradually adopt our values as a trusted member of the rules-based international order, today’s reality could not be further from that vision. Beijing is leveraging its massive manufacturing capacity to undercut European businesses with cheap goods. It routinely uses its economic weight to punish smaller countries that run afoul of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s wishes and is providing Russian President Vladimir Putin with the economic and political support he needs to continue his war.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.