Why did China suddenly defend Europe against the U.S.? - Alexander Kovalenko

In the past week, we have witnessed Donald Trump attempting to accelerate discussions regarding a potential "peace" in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, all while completely disregarding the European perspective. Even today, the statements made by the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Russia, Kurt Volker, at the Munich Security Conference directly addressed the issue of Europe’s involvement in the negotiation processes, to which he responded – no.

In essence, the U.S. is thoroughly and deliberately ignoring the role of Europe and, moreover, is distancing itself from the idea of European representatives participating in the negotiation processes.

Conversely, an unexpected (or perhaps not) statement was made by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, stating that Europe should join the peace negotiations regarding Ukraine.

Moreover, Wang Yi emphasized that European countries should play a key role in this.

Isn't it surprising that China has sided with Europe? Although, again, why is that surprising?

China is currently in a state of full readiness for an economic war with the U.S. 2.0. The next four years will unfold under the shadow of this confrontation, leading to a relentless turmoil in the global economy. For China, it is becoming increasingly important to support those forces that are dissatisfied with U.S. actions.

Thus, despite the fact that China has been a lifeline for Russia over the past three years, supplying technology and smuggling goods to circumvent sanctions, on the geopolitical stage, Beijing is opting to support Brussels as a counter to Washington. Therefore, the phase of drawing in the sand, which is essentially what we have observed throughout this week regarding the purported peaceful initiatives from the White House, is accompanied by initial jabs in the framework of the upcoming economic confrontation between the U.S. and China.

At first glance, it seems like just another statement among many others made recently, but it could signify a certain impetus in the formation of interest-based coalitions. I cannot say that this is bad for us, as it introduces a level of competition in an arena where Donald Trump will not feel like the sole dominant figure.

The key is to skillfully take advantage of the evolving situation in this arena.