As the U.S. coerces Europe into joining in its pressure against China, the EU and its major member states are trending towards maintaining and expanding economic relations with China.

In early November, the German Prime Minister visited China leading a large contingent of business delegation. After that, the President of the European Council visited China on December 1. The French President Macron also expressed his intention to visit the country at the beginning of next year.

Meanwhile, during the G20 Summit held in Indonesia, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands held summit meeting with China respectively and expressed their will to promote exchange and cooperation in the fields of trade, aviation, investment, response to climate change, etc.

In a speech at the European Parliament on November 22, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security of EU said that although the U.S. is Europe’s most important ally, the EU will not follow the U.S. toughest measures against China. And the Dutch Minister of External Trade said that the Netherlands will not copy the export control measures the U.S. imposed on China.

Such trends are attributable to the fact that the EU and its member states have more or less learned a lesson from the brazen betrayal of the U.S. which cares only for its own profits regardless of Europe’s interests.

The Biden Administration, since taking office, has talked much about strengthening alliance with Europe. However, its actions spoke otherwise. It betrayed Europe without hesitation like unilaterally withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan and forming AUKUS.

Its betrayal didn’t end here. Taking advantage of the EU member states floundering in an economic crisis involving energy shortage and soaring prices owing to the prolongation of the recent Ukrainian crisis, the U.S. is replenishing its purse by selling liquefied natural gas at an exorbitant price which is 4 times higher than the sale price at home. Also, in pursuance of its ambition to gain supremacy in the world competition for cutting-edge technology, it is enforcing the “Chips and Science Act” and “Inflation Reduction Act” which will drive Europe’s high-tech industries to ruin.

The U.S. takes every opportunity to advocate “strengthening alliance” and “restoring transatlantic relations”. But the reality shows that they are no more than a mere lip service aimed at deceiving European countries.

In regard to this, the EU warned that the relations between Europe and the U.S. is really in a critical state, and that the U.S. should be awake to the change in public opinion among many EU member states, and respect Europe’s concerns.

The U.S. magazine Politico also said that criticism and outrage are greatly increasing among EU high-ranking officials and leaders against the U.S. which is forcing Europe into a tight corner by adopting the IRA even while raking in massive profits from exporting energy and weapons to European countries undergoing economic stagnation due to the Ukrainian crisis.

The Politico EU website dedicated to European issues remarked that Biden is a “friend” who says all the good things but looks the other way at the vital moment when his colleague falls into a pit, and his “kind indifference” is more fatal for Europe.

As the U.S. is stripped off its veil of “strengthening alliance” piece by piece, Europe’s reaction will get much stronger.

Ju Hak Rim

Researcher of the Korea-Europe Association