President Xi Jinping’s recent voyage to Europe is the best barometer for measuring the current state of China-EU relations. A swift evaluation reveals more unsettling signs than promising advancements.

President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Paris, Belgrade and Budapest illuminated the plight of the European project and exposed the weakness of the call by Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, for the EU to be treated as a geopolitical power in its own right.

With Donald Trump making another run for the White House and the possible disruptions his election could bring, it is sensible for Germany to enhance win-win cooperation with China and push for the strategic enhancement of China-EU relations.

The developing geopolitical landscape of the 21st Century should see a rising East overtake the West in global leadership, and lack of clear, decisive, and effective China policy would place Europe on the losing side. But, is there any reason the EU cannot grow into the new order with renewed power?

The possibility of another Trump-style leader in the United States — perhaps even Donald Trump himself — has shaken Europe to its roots. Europe cannot replace American hegemony. Thus, its only course is to accelerate toward “strategic autonomy” to become less dependent on the U.S. security umbrella, which has been in place since World War II.

China and Europe look forward to more stable relations. But transcending the European-style de-risking narrative will take some doing. As frictions arise, the strategic definitions and political wisdom of both sides will be tested.

The recent EU-China Summit marked a cautious step forward in their relationship, underlining a growing willingness to constructively engage. While substantive policy changes remain elusive, both sides acknowledged concerns and showed openness to dialogue, hinting at a potential path for future negotiations and trust-building.

Europe’s dealings with China vary greatly from the level of the European Union down to each member’s policies, however explicit they may be. Germany’s role as a leader in Europe makes its own approach to China an important indicator of what the rest of the EU may do.

Since the end of World War II, the West’s hegemonic power has been synonymous with the NATO alliance. Decades later, the scope of NATO’s cause has expanded far beyond the “North Atlantic,” and is now locking horns with an ascendant China.

Italy’s Belt and Road engagement, which was led by the previous liberal administration, is coming to an end, but the inroads China has made in Italy means that creating distance can’t be done with the stroke of a pen.