European countries have become less willing to fall in line with the United States’ strategy to isolate China, according to an article published in The Atlantic, an American magazine.

President Xi Jinping meets with President Macron, Chancellor Angela Merkel, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a global governance forum co-hosted by China and France in Paris on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua/Ju Peng]

The article published on June 4 entitled "The US Is Losing Europe In Its Battle With China" was authored by Noah Barkin and it reflected on a meeting between America and its allies.

In the article, Barkin referred to the meeting held in Washington in April, stating that the US had pressed its allies, mostly European countries, to sign a joint statement condemning China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, almost all of the allies were reluctant to fall in line, according to the article.

“No one was willing to go along with it,” said a European diplomat familiar with the meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity, "We may agree that China is a strategic threat, but you can't put them in a corner."

For the Europeans, the meeting was another sign of what they see as the White House’s misguided zero-sum approach to dealing with China, the article said.

In the article, Barkin further pointed out America's tensions with China's growth have gone irrational, especially after seeing that China's BRI has spread across the globe. He wrote that one senior administration official has compared discussions of China's policy to the period after the 9/11 attacks, pointing out the radical tensions the US had with China.

Europe and the U.S. might be in the early stages of a damaging divergence on the China challenge and Trump’s latest moves, which raise the specter of a prolonged economic Cold War between Washington and Beijing, are likely to deepen the divide, warned the article.

For the full text of the article, pleased click the link:

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/06/united-states-needs-europe-against-china/590887/