While the U.S. keeps its focus on fighting the disease at home, China has continued offering aid to Europe, extending its influence through a mixture of soft power and propaganda. When the crisis subsides, the U.S. may find that its greatest ally has drifted further away from its sphere of influence. China is targeting in particular the EU’s worst-hit countries: Italy, Spain and Greece. They may find it impossible to resist Beijing’s help in their hour of greatest need.
fredag 27. mars 2020
U.S. Leaves the Door to Europe Wide Open for China
The ties that bind the U.S. and Europe date back in earnest to the Second World War, when America came to the rescue of Europe both militarily and financially, setting up a partnership that would last for 75 years. But as both powers struggle with the coronavirus pandemic, their most severe crisis since the war, this relationship doesn’t look as strong as it once did.
While the U.S. keeps its focus on fighting the disease at home, China has continued offering aid to Europe, extending its influence through a mixture of soft power and propaganda. When the crisis subsides, the U.S. may find that its greatest ally has drifted further away from its sphere of influence. China is targeting in particular the EU’s worst-hit countries: Italy, Spain and Greece. They may find it impossible to resist Beijing’s help in their hour of greatest need.
While the U.S. keeps its focus on fighting the disease at home, China has continued offering aid to Europe, extending its influence through a mixture of soft power and propaganda. When the crisis subsides, the U.S. may find that its greatest ally has drifted further away from its sphere of influence. China is targeting in particular the EU’s worst-hit countries: Italy, Spain and Greece. They may find it impossible to resist Beijing’s help in their hour of greatest need.
