The developments in the last 24 hours<\/b> around the conversations US-China,<\/b> on the occasion of the visit of Trump <\/b>to Pekino<\/b>, are not just another diplomatic mobility. <\/p>\n
They constitute the clearest indication that the global balance of power is changing<\/b> at a pace that Europe<\/b> is unable to follow and even more so to influence<\/b>.<\/p>\n
If Washington and Beijing reach even a partial agreement,<\/b> it will not be just a de-escalation of a trade or technological confrontation… <\/p>\n
It will be about forging a new “compromise”<\/b>between a dipole<\/b>, where the two superpowers<\/b> will determine the rules of the game<\/b>, leaving Europe in an observer role.<\/p>\n
The reality is harsh, in the critical sectors of the 21st century (artificial intelligence, high tech, defence, industrial production, energy chains) <\/b>the EU is not leading… It is lagging behind<\/b>!<\/p>\n
The big technology giants<\/b>are almost exclusively located in the US and China. <\/b>The critical supply chains are controlled by them. <\/p>\n
And investment<\/b> in innovation<\/b> is moving at speeds that European bureaucracies<\/b> cannot compete<\/b>.
The problem is not just economic… It is deeply geopolitical<\/b>! Europe is stuck<\/b> between three realities: <\/b><\/p>\n
First<\/b>, an America<\/b> that – especially under Trump – sees Europe more as a burden than a strategic partner. The logic of “America First”<\/b> leaves little room for equal relations. On the contrary, it reinforces the tendency for bilateral arrangements with major powers, bypassing Brussels.<\/span> <\/p>\n Second<\/b>, a China<\/b> that is strategically consistent in building global power networks (from technology to infrastructure to energy), seeing Europe primarily as a market rather than as an equal geopolitical player.<\/p>\n And, third<\/b>, a Russia<\/b>, led by Putin<\/b>, with which Europe is in open confrontation. This conflict is not only military or energy. It is strategic and dramatically limits the room for European manoeuvre.<\/p>\n In this context, Trump’s attempt to open channels<\/b>with Moscow<\/b>is of particular importance. This is not just a move to normalize relations. It is a classic geopolitical balancing act. <\/p>\n Washington is attempting to prevent<\/b> a deeper Russia-China convergence<\/b> by disrupting a potentially powerful Eurasian axis. The most worrying fact is that the European lag<\/b> does not seem to be a cyclical one… It is structural<\/b>! Energy dependence, despite efforts to diversify, remains. <\/p>\n The defence industry is fragmented<\/b>. Technological innovation lags behind. And above all, a unified strategic vision of where Europe wants to stand on the new world map is lacking.<\/p>\n While the US and China<\/b> are moving in terms of “grand strategies”, Europe seems stuck<\/b>in internal balances, regulations and political compromises. The question, then, is not whether Europe is in danger of being marginalised<\/b>. This is already happening. <\/p>\n The real question is whether it still has the time – and more importantly the will – to react before its role is definitively reduced to that of an economic space without geopolitical power. <\/p>\n In a world returning to the logic of the great powers, those who don’t play the game,<\/b>are merely subjected to its rules! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \n The developments of the past 24 hours surrounding the US-China talks, on the occasion of Trump’s visit to Beijing, are not just another …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
If this succeeds, the US will have gained strategic space<\/b>; if it fails, China will further strengthen its position. In any case, Europe<\/b> is not on the decision table<\/b>, but on the menu.<\/p>\n