Welcome to Red Thread, Euractiv’s weekly newsletter on the EU’s relationship with China and the wider Asia-Pacific.
I’m Christina Zhao in Oceania, joined by Anupriya Datta in Europe.
This week, we look at how Brussels is drifting towards a full-blown trade war with Beijing…
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump (Photo by Evan Vucci via Getty Images)
“Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can totally go hand in hand,” Xi Jinping told Donald Trump in Beijing last week, warmly invoking the US president’s MAGA slogan.
“It’s an honour to be your friend,” Trump replied. “We will have a fantastic future together.”
After years of tariff wars, export controls and mutual suspicion, the two leaders suddenly looked less like rival superpowers than a couple calling off a messy divorce.
The EU, meanwhile, had already picked a side.
For much of the past decade, Brussels aligned itself with…
