Exclusive | Your best friend has abandoned you: inside China’s latest EU charm offensive

As bloc’s ties with US plummet over Donald Trump’s embrace of Russia, Beijing pitches itself as a more reliable partner than Washington

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In official meetings with EU representatives, Chinese officials have reportedly pointed to the stunning about-face by US President Donald Trump, who is now seen to side with Moscow. Photo: AP

Published: 10:57am, 28 Feb 2025Updated: 8:06pm, 28 Feb 2025

As US President Donald Trump takes a flame-thrower to relations with Europe, Chinese diplomats have been moving through the continent with a message: your best friend has abandoned you. Let’s uphold the multilateral order together.

The message was transmitted, either in this language or similar terms, over recent weeks in Brussels, Dublin, Munich and Paris, according to people present at or briefed on the meetings, as China looks to use the fractured transatlantic alliance to draw Europe closer to its orbit.

Several European officials and diplomats said Beijing was on a “charm offensive” and looking to make hay from the American pivot under Trump. The US has dramatically sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin in his war on Ukraine and thrown support behind the far-right in European elections.

Trump on Wednesday promised 25 per cent tariffs on EU-made goods and on Monday even voted with Moscow at the United Nations on resolutions condemning Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Virtually nobody now expects the Western powers to continue collaborating on China policy, an idea pitched during a trip to Washington last week by trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic.

Instead, some conversations in Brussels have turned to “de-risking” from the US, even as they continue to cut dependencies on China in recognition that Europe is “truly alone”, according to a second diplomat.