On June 30 of this year, Wang Yi, member of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee and head of China’s Foreign Ministry, embarked on a week-long tour of Europe — his second visit to the continent this year. During the trip, he took part in the latest “China-EU Strategic Dialogue” and also visited Germany and France.

On the Significance of Europe for China — and Not Only for China

The recent strengthening of this trend is due in part to the “Donald Trump factor,” meaning the radical shifts in U.S. policy that began during his first presidency. This factor has generated a range of uncertainties in the global political arena, pushing all major players to seek “backup options” for their positioning in world affairs.

However, Europe remains an attractive partner in its own right, primarily due to its still-substantial economic potential. This is despite all the upheavals of recent times, in which one can clearly detect the seasoned hand of the same provocateurs who orchestrated the last two great continental wars — and are now openly preparing for a third. The conflict in Ukraine is a direct product of their activity. A crucial stage in this process was the seizure of control over Germany — a key European country — by Donald Trump’s adversaries. Following familiar patterns, a new transcontinental “dividing line” is once again being drawn.

As for the current state of China-Europe relations, let us simply point to the volume of bilateral trade — nearly $750 billion. Yet even within this very trade and economic component lies the source of most of the problems in the relationship. One of the main issues is the EU’s trade deficit with China, amounting to almost $300 billion. In other words, it is not so much “American pressure” that drives Brussels to impose various restrictions on trade with China, but rather the EU’s own concern over the imbalance in bilateral trade and its fear of losing control over companies that produce cutting-edge technology.

To these restrictions, China responds in kind. Some of these measures are largely symbolic — such as the imposition of five-year

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