Continued conflation of economic issues with geopolitical concerns may hinder Europe’s ability to reverse its gradual decline of influence within both emerging industries and the broader international economic landscape. Ultimately, it will squander its limited resources.

The two countries seek to show their commitment to advancing European sovereignty. Unfortunately, the United States will not allow it, as it believes greater autonomy for Europe would diminish NATO’s influence across the continent.

The European Union will see sanctions through regardless of cost. Meanwhile, it is feeling the backlash. As pressure continues to advance, the trouble will ferment, eroding their resolve. Will the EU be able to tough it out? That’s anything but certain.

While the Eurozone is increasingly at risk of fracture, China benefits most from a unified Europe. China should be weary of European skepticism towards China’s aid during the COVID-19 crisis, especially as the EU debates its own internal dilemmas.

Populist forces increasingly make it hard for the EU to move forward. Now, the pandemic has triggered a new set of problems, impeding interaction between China and Europe.

A look at the timeline for when the European Union’s financial centers acquired the infrastructure necessary to be considered as offshore hubs for the Chinese currency provides a new angle to consider how Beijing plans to internationalize its currency.

The new rapprochement between Brussels and Beijing involves converging economic interests between Europe and China – and diverging strategic interests between Europe and America. While the shift was conceptualized as a reaction to a policy vacuum created by Trump, in reality, the ties between Brussels and Beijing have grown steadily since the 1990s, even when U.S.-Chinese ties have fallen under pressure.

The vote is a rejection of the “Hard Brexit” plan to take the UK out of both the Single Market and the Customs Union, and allows for the first time wide-range, cross-party dialogue on the goals of Brexit and perhaps a real opportunity to form a consensus.

The current international situation is rife with change, uncertainty and crisis in the Middle East, Asian Pacific, and Europe, largely due to shifting world power. Chen Xiangyang overviews changes and contradictions around the globe from a realist perspective on power relations.

A Greek exit from the EU would lead to increased instability in Europe. Yet, it may present opportunity for China, the U.S. EU, and IMF to engage together in a summit to safeguard the stability of the Eurozone and shape a global norm on tax evasion and tax heavens that have adversely affected insolvent states like Greece.