Don’t expect Greenland crisis to realign EU with China, former US diplomat says

While there may be hopes in Beijing that Washington’s attempt to acquire Greenland has strained transatlantic ties and might draw European countries closer to China, a veteran US diplomat said such a fundamental realignment was unlikely.The core task of the European Union’s foreign policy will remain navigating intensifying US-China rivalry while seeking a workable balance between the two, according to William Klein, a former charge d’affaires at the US embassy in China.Addressing a seminar at the University of Hong Kong on Monday, Klein said he had “detected some hope in China over the past several years that, as Europe’s relations with the United States deteriorate, maybe this is an opening [for Beijing]”.“Maybe Europe will see China as a partner and potentially, even a counterweight to the United States,” added Klein, now a partner with the consultancy FGS Global and non-resident fellow of HKU’s Centre on Contemporary China and the World.“But I think all of those assessments, or hopes, are inaccurate … Expecting Europe to fundamentally shift how it engages China is not going to happen.”01:29‘This plan has historic origins’: Putin says Trump’s plan to annex Greenland is ‘serious’ ‘This plan has historic origins’: Putin says Trump’s plan to annex Greenland is ‘serious’ Klein said that although Washington’s unpredictable policies were shaking the EU, China’s image was also deteriorating within the bloc, largely because of its trade policy and perceived support for Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine.