Handelsblatt: EU-Beijing investment deal threatens Biden’s dreams of anti-China alliance with Brussels – 2024-05-07 03:29:39

/ world today news/ The recent investment agreement between the EU and China may prevent the restoration of transatlantic relations under the administration of Joe Biden, writes Handelsblatt. It is noted that Biden plans to form an alliance with the EU to counter the PRC; now the implementation of this plan is becoming more and more complicated. According to the former head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, the investment agreement could drive a wedge between the EU and the US.

Joe Biden’s European expectations are extremely high, writes Handelsblatt: a new start in transatlantic relations, perhaps even a resumption of negotiations on the TTIP trade agreement. Biden, for his part, announced “improving shaky relationships with othersthem democracies’closer cooperation with Europe and even the creation of an alliance to counter China.

However, Washington may not like the EU’s current agreements with China, the paper notes: in particular, the US has criticized the recently concluded investment agreement between Beijing and Brussels.

According to Eurasia Group analyst Michael Hirson, the new investment agreement shows how difficult it will be for Biden to forge an alliance against China. The former head of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, notes that the EU chose the wrong time to sign the agreement. “Why couldn’t we wait a little longer? If the EU and the US had joined forcesthose siperhaps China would have offered more favorable terms”, quoted Zoellick as fearing that the investment deal could drive a wedge between the EU and the US. According to Zoellick, the EU has traded its strategic interests for a small trade deal with the PRC.

However, not everyone believes that the investment deal between the EU and China will harm relations between Brussels and the US, writes Handelsblatt. According to economist Gabriel Felbermeier, the investment agreement will not interfere with the transatlantic alliance. And expert Veronica Grimm notes that China is simply too big to be isolated.

Translation: M.Zhelyazkova