After the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, many analysts expected that relations between the European Union and China would enter a honeymoon phase. Facing a protectionist and potentially destabilizing period in U.S. foreign policy, Europe and China would necessarily have to cooperate more closely on issues ranging from climate change to trade, in order to head off threats to the very future of globalization.
The recent EU-China summit, taking place the day after Trump’s announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, would have been the natural occasion to showcase this new alignment, which would represent a watershed moment for the changing international order.
Instead, there has been remarkably little sign of a significant Trump effect on EU-China relations. For the second consecutive year, the summit closed without a joint statement due to differences over China’s “market economy” status. The tone in Europe on Chinese trade issues has been hardening, in ways that closely resemble U.S. debates, rather than reflecting any newfound desire to cast the continent’s lot in with Beijing. And while China has rhetorically adopted the role of globalization’s champion and is maintaining its commitment to the Paris agreement, there has been little detectible effort to further open its own markets or to take on any additional climate responsibilities.