China wants to step in as a rift between the US and its European allies widens

The World
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcome ceremony for Chinese panda bears Meng Meng and Jiao Qing at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany July 5, 2017.

US President Donald Trump may have felt embraced during his visit to Poland. But his policies and rhetoric — particularly on climate change and free trade — have created a rift between the US and some of its other, traditional European allies.

That rift has given China, a country looking to position itself as a defender of multilateralism and global free trade, a unique opportunity to step in to fill that void.

“[Trump’s] rhetoric certainly leaves the road open for China. The question is: Is China ready to take it?,” said François Godement, director of the Asia and China program at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Some reports indicate that China could take a more prominent role, in partnership with Germany. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping met ahead of the G-20 summit, set to begin on Friday. The two leaders pledged to boost economic cooperation between their countries.

"The two industrial powerhouses of Asia and Europe are being nudged into an informal alliance to pick up the leadership baton that the US is accused of having dropped since President Donald Trump’s inauguration earlier this year, according to diplomats and officials from several Group of 20 members," Bloomberg reports.

But some analysts question whether China's role can go beyond rhetoric.

“[Beyond] declarations of intentions, partners will be disappointed ... by the fact that ... China doesn't really change its stance on many issues,” including trade and international law, Godement said.

In the case of trade, for example, Godement says “with protectionist threats from the US, China would look very good if it was making concession ... on trading agreements,” something that Europe has been asking for for years.

“But the fact is that, contrary to expectations, it hasn't done so,” Godement said.

You can listen to an interview with François Godement by clicking the Play button above.

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