Brussels – Much of China in Europe and the Eurozone has become increasingly dependent on Beijing. The European Central Bank analyzes the economic weight of the People's Republic in the world and its influence beyond its borders. Sometimes the results of the analyzes carried out in papers are very clear. The US remains at risk but has reduced its dependence on Asian countries, but the opposite is true for EU countries with a single currency. The euro area's exposure to China is increasing.
According to the data available, the ECB said: China's share of euro area imports has increased by 3 percentage points since 2016, but China's share of imports from the United States has decreased by 11 percentage points.. In additionFrom 2022 onwards, the eurozone has greater exposure to China than the United States.
That's not all. The EU needs what the EU does not have and can currently find on the Chinese market. That's not all China is the main source of 33 strategic goods imported from the euro areaThese include rare earths, lithium, tungsten, copper and chromium, but “75 percent of these products account for more than 50 percent of the euro area's import market.”
There is nothing new in the fact that Europe is too “controlled” from an economic point of view by the Chinese government. For years, a single open market has allowed Chinese companies to seize strategic locations such as ports, raising security concerns in the European Parliament. Based on the data collected by the ECB, it is clear that: Europeans have been unable to reverse this trend and continue to advance further into the arms of the People's Republic..
The latter is also problematic from the perspective of transatlantic relations. The United States now views China as a major geopolitical competitor, especially if the winner of next week's election is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who is troubling Brussels and other capitals. There is a risk that relations with the United States will deteriorate.
Therefore, the situation in the EU and in countries with a single currency remains unchanged. China is increasingly given too much importance in economic policy. This will have a series of implications for its relationship with the United States and its desire for strategic autonomy, which still appears to be lacking.
English version by Withub translation service
