President Biden is moving to “reengage” Europe, seeking to rebuild transatlantic ties. The Chinese regime, however, doubts he will succeed. America’s traditional allies, the Communist Party’s Global Times stated on Friday, “are economically dependent on China.”
Indeed, they are. China overtook the United States last year as the European Union’s largest merchandise trade partner. In 2020, the EU’s exports to China increased 2 percent from the year before, according to Eurostat, the trading bloc’s statistics agency. EU imports from that country jumped more than 5 percent. At the same time, the EU’s exports to the U.S. fell 8 percent and imports fell 13 percent. China’s accomplishment is all the more impressive because EU trade volume declined last year, with exports dropping 9 percent and imports falling more than 11 percent.
Beijing is continually touting its replacement of America at the top of the EU trade rankings. Xinhua News Agency