The following is an excerpt from Philippe Le Corre’s op-ed published in the Wire China. Philippe is a Senior Fellow on Foreign Policy with the Center for China Analysis.

While the Trump administration has been dominating the media agenda over Ukraine and the Middle East, lining up presidential decrees across the board and shaking up the U.S. government, China has had every reason to rub its hands.

Last month Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi addressed the 61st Munich Security Conference with the following message to the Europeans: “China has always seen in Europe an important pole in the multipolar world. The two sides are partners, not rivals. This year marks the 50th anniversary of China-EU diplomatic relations. Taking this opportunity, China is willing to work with the European side to deepen strategic communication and mutually beneficial cooperation, and steer the world to a bright future of peace, security, prosperity and progress.”

Such language could hardly be more different from that employed by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, whose vocal attacks over European democracy shocked Munich participants — and beyond.

By and large, China understands Europe’s ambiguous transatlantic relations and ambivalence towards Donald Trump and his America First mantra. Just like in early 2017 when Trump was first elected, Beijing is activating its networks (including retired politicians) to remind Europeans of the benefits of multilateralism and globalization. At the United Nations, where it holds a permanent seat at the Security Council, and other international forums, China is using all possible means to grab the chance provided by Trump’s reckless activity. Through its “Global Security Initiative,” it promotes security, development and respect for other nations. Lately, Beijing has also caught the “window of opportunity for peace” in Ukraine, as Minister Wang underlined during a G20 meeting in South Africa, on February 20.

However, Europeans are not about to forget Xi Jinping’s massive support for Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine over the past three years, the delivery of dual technologies to Russia, the increased Sino-Russian trade or the strong declarations by President Xi Jinping towards his “partner without limits.” The EU is hardly in a mood to compromise on trade issues and on China’s ambition to increase exports of electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and other consumer products onto the European market. China may need exports to support its faltering economy, but the reverse is also true, and tariffs imposed on French liquors over the past few months, for example, have caused a lot of concern locally. 

Read the full article on the Wire China’s website here.