The enemy today is Russia. But everything indicates that the next one is here China. The meeting between Joe Biden And Ursula von der Leyen in Washington took place with these premises. The negative effects ofAnti-Inflation Actthe European answer with the Net Zero Business Plan – expected for next week along with that Critical Raw Materials Act to rare earths – and the potential concessions the US might make to its European ally was just one of the issues on the table. Perhaps not even the most important in relation to the fundamental goal of the renewed transatlantic alliance: to counteract itBeijing’s commercial and technological hegemony.
Transatlantic tensions appear to have eased after the statements made after the meeting. The President of the European Commission praised the US Maxi stimulus plan stresses that such a “massive investment” is in green technologies good for everyone. For this reason, he explained, Brussels launched its green tech plan in the wake of the IRA. But now it has to be found between European and American stimuli a meeting place because “if they don’t align, they cancel each other out,” explained a White House official. The American President and von der Leyen have started work on one so that European companies can also benefit from US subsidies trade agreement on critical minerals, indispensable for the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. If an agreement were reached, Washington and Brussels would also have the side effect of reducing dependence on China, which is rich in these elements. The two leaders also pledged to reach an agreement on sustainable steel and aluminum by October 2023. The US and the EU have taken two “important steps”: begin to work “for an agreement on critical materials” and “to ensure and guarantee safe supply chains for batteries in the EU access to the US market”. said Ursula von der Leyen after the summit. At the same time, “the dialogue on incentives for clean energy is being initiated,” he added.
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China is not mentioned directly in the conversation between Biden and von der Leyen, but is present between the lines of the joint statement, particularly when it comes to the need to strengthen “economic and national security.” As proof that the EU also wants to gradually rid itself of the dragon, the President brought the Netherlands’ decision to the Oval Office, immediately after Japan’s. to block the export of microchip manufacturing technology to Beijing. A win for Biden, who had been trying for months to persuade allies to take this crucial step, and whopreparing for further tightening next month on semiconductor exports to China.
But for Washington, Beijing poses no threat to the West only from an economic point of view. As far as we know, the American President is willing to share with Brussels intelligence information showing China’s willingness to supply arms to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Von der Leyen and Biden reiterated the strength of transatlantic unity in the face of aggression Wladimir Putin(“Russia will pay for the atrocities committed in Russia,” the EU leader underlined) and expressed the intention to impose new sanctions not only on Moscow, but also on “third countries”, a term that the American government usually resorts to moves to Beijing.
The US and the EU are also working”to further limit Russian revenue, at the same time ensuring the continuity of the energy supply of emerging and developing countries through the maximum price limit set by the G7 for crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin transported by sea”. On the energy front, the President of the European Commission thanked Biden for the gas supplies that allowed Europe to overcome the crisis created by Vladimir Putin. The United States “helped us enormously when we wanted to free ourselves from dependence on Russian energy,” emphasized von der Leyen.
The liberation draft from China implemented by von der Leyen is complex and allegedly not well digested by all 27. There is the question of “domestic and international guarantees” – raised by the Italian and German finance ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti and Christian Lindner – which various capitals are demanding from the EU in the face of a costly change of pace. And China’s economic ties with various member states remain close and intricate: the transformation underway will take time. But the war in Ukraine could speed it up. The aid that Moscow receives from third countries such as North Korea and Iran and the need to tighten sanctions evasion will be one of the topics of the von der Leyen-Biden meeting.