After moves by France, Germany and the Netherlands, the introduction of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific should come as no surprised. Two questions emerge: Is this new version of the strategy a follow-up to the United States or an independent strategic consideration? And how should China respond?

For a decade, the focus of the United States has shown a high degree of continuity, starting with George W. Bush and followed by Barack Obama, Donald Trump and now Joe Biden. But America is now paying greater attention to detail and adding new features to its geostrategic approach.

The United States has been unsuccessful in its attempts to rally Southeast Asia against China. In recent months, it has mounted a transparent effort to curry favor in the region. But nobody wants to choose between major trading powers. They’d rather keep their options open.

The Biden administration is considering a digital trade agreement with countries in the Indo-Pacific in an effort to check China's influence in the region.

If the UK hasn’t thought through its position relative to the strategic competition between China and the United States, its pivot to the region will not make much of a splash.

It’s true that the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy has brought certain pressures and challenges to China, but these are manageable, given the thinning resources of the United States and the ability of Chinese diplomacy to adapt.

A series of moves by the United States and the words of its high-ranking officials all point in the same direction: The U.S. is doing its utmost to contain China across the board for the 21st century.

With only four countries in the bloc — the United States, Japan, Australia and India — and with dissension in the ranks, it’s unlikely that a NATO-style alliance will ever emerge in the Eastern Hemisphere. It cannot work without consensus.

China has used the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to invest in and bolster diplomatic relations with a number of countries. The American counter strategy pales in comparison, opening the door for a more powerful China in the post-Covid world order.

The United States has weakened it reputation around the world through the capricious actions of the Trump administration. As a result, even its friends are unlikely to play along.