A Complicated Triangular Relationship Between China, the U.S., and Europe

800 21st Street Northwest,Washington DC 20052

17 November, 2021

Description

The United States, China, and the European Union are the three major powers in the world today, and the three have a special relationship. The United States, China, and the European Union are the three major powers in the world today, and the three have a special relationship of cooperation and competition. In the context of increasing competition between China and the United States, the E.U. is a key variable affecting the trilateral relations between China, the United States, and Europe. Since the end of the Cold War, the E.U. has been an important ally of the United States. The two parts share the same democratic values and the E.U. supports the U.S. decisions on many issues. However, the "America First" put forward by former U.S. President Donald Trump reflected strong unilateralism, which alienates U.S.-European relations to a certain extent. After President Joe Biden took office, he tried to improve U.S.-E.U. relations by restarting the U.S.-E.U. dialogue mechanism on the "China issue"; the first high-level dialogue was held in May 2021. In the 21st century, China's overall strength has increased significantly and its international influence has gradually expanded. At the end of 2020, China and the 27 E.U. countries concluded the China-E.U. Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI), laying a solid foundation for China-E.U. economic and trade relations. China and the E.U. also have worked closely together in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Chinese leaders have had frequent phone calls with their counterparts from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, and the E.U., which is unprecedented in the history of Sino-E.U. relations. However, there are frictions between China and the E.U. over the tracing of the origin of coronavirus and trade in technology. During the competition between China and the U.S., the E.U. has always adopted the political logic of "not choosing sides" and carried out economic cooperation with China as much as possible on the premise of not jeopardizing the U.S.-E.U. relationship. This logic has played a significant role in balancing and coordinating the world order. Yet the political power in Europe is in a period of change and competition between China and the U.S. is likely to unfold, bringing more uncertainty and complication towards the relationship between China, the U.S., and the E.U. For this panel, the China Development Student Think Tank (CDSTT) will discuss how should the E.U. position itself between China and the U.S., inviting regional experts to interpret the development prospects of Sino-E.U. relations in the post-epidemic era and its impact on Sino-U.S. and U.S.-E.U. relations. This panel discussion features: Mr. Tomas Baert, Head of Trade and Agriculture of the E.U. Delegation to the U.S. Dr. Robert Sutter, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at the Elliott School of the George Washington Univeristy Dr. Matthias Matthijs, Senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; Professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Moderator: Steven Huang, GWSB '22; CDSTT (GWU) Vice President & Development Committee Chair  China Development Student Think Tank(CDSTT), a GWU student organization that promotes discussions on the topics of Sino U.S. relations, Chinese economic political reform and Asian-Pacific sustainable development. As the first student think tank in GWU, our mission is to provide constructive academic reports and intellectual ideas about development, reform, culture, and diversity.