Europe in the midst of China–US strategic economic competition: what are the European Union’s options?

Abstract

ABSTRACTDespite President Trump’s announcement of a partial deal on October 11, the prolonged economic competition between the two superpowers does not bode well for the future. Within this context, the European Union faces an urgent question: how to position itself in the US–China competition. This paper aims at addressing this question after reviewing the milestones of the trade war and the consequences for China, the US and EU. This paper concludes that European companies are to suffer from the trade war but some sectors could experience gains. Also, a trade deal which pushes China to reform and open up would also be beneficial. Against this background, this paper reviews the EU’s options in dealing with the two hegemons in the light of their growing strategic confrontation. These options are safeguarding multilateralism, relying on the Transatlantic Alliance and remaining neutral which implies relative more engagement with China on economic matters.