On tour in Europe until the end of this week, the head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, came to beat the recall of European troops to federate behind the United States and under the banner of NATO a dangerous escalation against China. The principles of the rise in power of a Western “common front” led by Washington against Beijing had been adopted at the beginning of the month at the time of the G7 and Atlantic Alliance summits. US President Joe Biden proclaimed there “The return of America” and his vocation to “Lead the world”. Its Secretary of State was instructed to move immediately to the practical work of this military-diplomatic offensive.
In the United States, these priorities have translated into a further explosion in military spending. After already historic hike records under Donald Trump, his successor, Joe Biden, in May increased the 2022 military budget to some $ 715 billion (603 billion euros), an increase of $ 11 billion ( 9.3 billion euros) over the current year. It represents the total of the armed expenditure of the ten largest military powers which follow the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom included.
Contradictions and concessions
Antony Blinken began his tour through Germany, where he stayed for more than 48 hours, to reach Berlin, the most important piece of the European chessboard in Washington’s eyes. Angela Merkel will be the first Head of State invited to the White House on July 15: “I think it is fair to say that the United States does not have a better partner, a better friend in the world than Germany”, the secretary of state said on Wednesday alongside the chancellor .
If the Atlanticist traditions are well anchored across the Rhine, the establishment of this privileged alliance nevertheless comes up against some major contradictions with the economic and strategic orientations of the country. The installation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is one of them. It must guarantee Germany, a major energy consumer, a supply of Russian natural gas, deemed to be less polluting than its lignite-fired power stations. Very opposed to this project, denouncing aid to the Russian President, Vladimir Poutin to sell his raw materials, Washington seems to have significantly changed its position. In exchange probably for concessions from Berlin on the rise of Sino-German economic relations, another point of contradiction likely to hinder a full mobilization of Germany to the rescue of US imperialism.
China has indeed become Germany’s leading economic partner, ahead of the United States and France. To escape the problem, it would be necessary “A relaunch of the transatlantic free trade agreement project”, notes Armin Laschet. However, the CDU candidate to succeed Merkel in the September Bundestag ballot, if he decides to speak up against Beijing, also points to the complexity of the affair. Because, he said, “China’s rapid economic boom after the pandemic” also benefited German exporters.
To overcome these dilemmas and completely tip Germany over in the mobilization of its NATO allies, Blinken is counting on a very favorable political climate across the Rhine for his administration. Thus, the main opposition candidate in the Bundestag ballot, the Green Annalena Baerbock, promised to enter the government, if not the chancellery, is at the forefront in a plea that is as two-party as it is Atlanticist and anti- Chinese.
In Paris, which spared no effort in the war to respond to the “Recommendations” successive US administrations, there is a certain frustration to see Germany thus pulling the cover of its transatlantic relationship. Emmanuel Macron, whom Antony Blinken meets this Friday, could once again plead in favor of his project of “Defense Europe, complementary to NATOTo better mobilize resources for the war effort. Didn’t Paris commit to a sharp increase in its expenditure on armaments in order to bring them to 2% of GDP, even though Germany was rather dragging its feet? Europeans need a completely different logic of common security.
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