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Most Europeans Say Beijing 'Necessary Partner', Keep Neutral Over US-China Spat

© AFP 2023 / THIERRY CHARLIERThe Chinese flag(L) is draped beside the European Union (EU) during an EU- China Summit at the European Union Commission headquarters in Brussels on June 29, 2015
The Chinese flag(L) is draped beside the European Union (EU) during an EU- China Summit at the European Union Commission headquarters in Brussels on June 29, 2015 - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2023
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As tensions between Washington and Beijing mount, and policymakers in the European Union work on de-risking parts of their relationship with the Asian powerhouse, a recent survey revealed that a majority of people in the EU fail to consider China as a “rival” or “adversary”.
Most Europeans would support neutrality in a US-China stand-off, according to a new poll.
More than 60 percent of respondents, surveyed in 11 countries of the European Union, said that they would prefer their country not to take any side in case a conflict between Washington and Beijing erupted over Taiwan, according to the new survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
No more than 23 percent revealed they would opt to side with Washington, which has been increasingly belligerent towards the Asian powerhouse, designating it a "challenge" and a "threat". Earlier this year, US intelligence leaders said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) remained the "most consequential threat" to America's national security.
Individuals in the 11 EU member states - Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden - were asked the question: Generally speaking, thinking about China, which of the following best reflects your view on what it is to Europe?
Most respondents to the ECFR poll saw Beijing more as a strategic partner than a rival or adversary, and revealed they were reluctant to "de-risk" from China. A mere 22 percent of Europeans saw the European region’s economic relationship with China as fraught with more risks than benefits.
© Photo : European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2023
Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
It was European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who had recently touted this need for "de-risking", saying: "China’s rise as an international political and economic actor shows that decoupling is not viable, desirable or even practical for Europe. But there is clearly a need for Europe to work on de-risking some important and sensitive parts of our relationship.”
Although those European leaders who share her views weight the risks and opportunities of "engagement with China”, most of those polled in April 2023 by the ECFR do not see China as a power that "challenges and wants to undermine Europe".
When asked about the relationship between China and Russia, some 70 percent of respondents recognized that the two countries were close partners.
© Photo : European Council on Foreign Relations (Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).
Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.06.2023
Screenshot showing chart as part of survey from the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

“European citizens aspire to remain neutral in a US-China conflict and are reluctant to de-risk from China - even if they recognize some risks in China’s economic presence in Europe,” the researchers wrote.

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There were only three countries where a majority of the respondents appeared to see China as a “rival” or an “adversary”, rather than an “ally” or “partner”. These were Germany, France, Denmark, and Sweden.
The researchers underscored that the ECFR’s poll results showed that European citizens were more inclined to side with French President Emmanuel Macron's stance on Taiwan, rather than that of the administration of US President Joe Biden. Back in April, after Macron's visit to Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping and other senior Chinese officials, the French leader urged the EU not to allow itself to be sucked into the confrontation between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan, stating that Europe must diminish its dependency on the US and build up its "strategic autonomy". Europe should avoid being "caught up in crises that are not ours", the French president said, referring to China-US tensions over Taiwan.
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