Europe’s Role in US–China Strategic Competition

Abstract

This chapter analyzes Europe’s role and place in US–China competition with a focus on Huawei’s presence in Europe’s fifth generation (5G) wireless networks. This case reveals three broader features of Europe’s role in US–China competition. First, European countries’ desire to expand their economic links with China while continuing to depend on the US for their defense represents the central challenge they face in this new strategic environment. Second, while US and European views on China have converged in recent years, they are not identical, and European countries are unlikely to take as firm a position toward China as countries in Western Europe did against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Third, while internal divisions will prevent Europe from acting as a third power alongside the US and China in world politics, Europe will still be able to shape its regional environment and influence US–China competition in various ways.