Europe must define its own China strategy to avoid decline

Europe needs to formulate a clear competitiveness agenda and policy aims for engaging with China, as Beijing actively seeks to influence the continent over the next two years using both incentives, such as a proposed trade agreement, and deterrents, including new legislation targeting companies that threaten Chinese interests. The European Union must leverage this pressure to finally decide its approach to China, or risk geopolitical irrelevance and economic decline. China, prioritizing stable and diversified supplies of energy, technology, and agricultural inputs, is avoiding taking sides amid global alliance shifts, notably between the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.