Europe should play a greater role in breaking the U.S.-China deadlock given its close relationship with Washington and deeper historic understanding of Beijing, argues Peter Mandelson.
"This is not a matter of taking sides," argues the former European Trade Commissioner. "The longer we lack an international system capable of diffusing rivalry within established guardrails, the greater the risk of escalating confrontation, which will most likely start in the Asia-Pacific region."
Europe has to make this happen, in his view, because its interests are distinct from those of the U.S. "From Washington's perspective, China threatens to displace U.S. economic and military predominance first in the Pacific and then, inevitably, further afield," while Europe "has no interest in imposing an economic cordon around China."
"European nations have different ideas about where the sweet spot lies" between reducing dependence on China and maintaining export opportunities, Mandelson writes. "But none of them want the full-fat decoupling they fear may be the consequence, if not the aim, of current U.S. policies."
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