Biden seeks EU support on China, but trade battles persist
SMA NEWS – BRUSSELS
US President Joe Biden will seek the EU’s backing on Tuesday to face the rise of China, but Brussels wants a swift end to lingering trade rows and a clean break from Donald Trump.
After the European enthusiasm that followed Biden’s election, the president of the European Council Charles Michel, representing the 27 EU leaders, and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will sound out Biden for more detail on his “America is back” pledge.
Biden’s two-hour stopover at EU headquarters, tucked between a NATO summit and his sitdown with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, “is not going to settle everything but diplomacy is back,” a senior EU official said on Monday.
After the crisis in the transatlantic relationship under Trump, who considered the EU a bitter economic rival, Biden wants to “defuse the disputes … in order to focus on his priority, China,” said Eric Maurice of the Schuman Foundation.
A senior US official traveling with Biden told reporters: “This speaks to President Biden’s fundamental strategy of managing competition with China by coordinating closely with and developing common approaches with like-minded democratic partners and allies.”
The Europeans will be trying to clear the slate of trade disputes in order to enter a more friendly phase and jointly tackle other issues, which also include curbing big tech and handling Russia.
The European official said both sides had been “sweating” to find common ground on trade ahead of the meeting and give a clear sign that Trump-era battles will soon be behind them.
