US and EU Narrow Gap on China But Remain Split on Trade Tactics
- Officials agree on ‘de-risking’ relationship with Beijing
- Europe still reluctant to target China specifically in policy
Photographer: John Thys/AFP/Getty Images
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The US and the European Union are still struggling to agree on specific ways to slow China’s technological rise and limit its coercive trade practices even as both have signed onto the strategic need to “de-risk” their relationships with Beijing.
Senior US officials had wanted the EU to agree this week to jointly pursue a new mechanism to screen outbound investments to places like China. Instead, the two sides emerged from a high-level trade meeting in northern Sweden with a joint document that largely avoids mentioning Beijing.