As Trump brings the EU and China closer, reality keeps pulling them apart

Is China an "essential partner" to tackle the greatest challenges of our time or the "key enabler" behind the largest armed conflict on European soil since 1945?

At this stage, it just depends on who you ask.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has unleashed seismic changes across the globe, forcing nations to re-evaluate their alliances and rivalries in desperate search of shelter against the president's go-for-broke policies.

His sweeping tariffs, in particular, have deeply unsettled governments, which are now seriously contemplating if the trade flows and supply chains on which they have relied for the past decades are about to crumble overnight, wreaking untold havoc.

For the European Union, an export-oriented powerhouse and staunch advocate of free markets, the Trump tariffs have hit like a slap in the face. Despite the White House's surprise reversal, the bloc will still be subject to the 10% baseline rate. Additionally, steel, aluminum and cars will be under a punishing 25% levy. Trump has threatened further duties on foreign-made pharmaceuticals, a precious sector for the Europeans.

With transatlantic relations plunging at a vertiginous pace and the American market becoming inc...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]