Pushed by Trump, US allies are resetting relations with China

BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� Chinese President Xi Jinping has had a busy few weeks receiving Western allies seeking warmer ties with the world’s second-largest economy.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney slashing tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and Canadian canola oil.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir this week to repair ties that have been strained for years, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected there next month. Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo also was among the latest leaders from Europe to shake hands with Xi.

In a since President Donald Trump took office again, America鈥檚 closest partners are exploring opportunities with China following clashes with Trump and his from NATO ally Denmark. Despite , they are resetting relations with a country long seen as a top adversary to many Western allies and the top economic rival to the U.S.

鈥淲e鈥檙e engaging broadly, strategically with open eyes,鈥� meeting last week in Davos, Switzerland, shortly after he returned from Beijing. 鈥淲e actively take on the world as it is, not wait around for a world we wish to be.鈥�

Some leaders, lawmakers and experts lament a shift that could tip the balance in Beijing’s favor at Washington’s expense, while others say China is as much of a challenge as the U.S. because both . Either way, how countries are aligning themselves with the world’s two superpowers is changing.

“Instead of creating a united front against China, we鈥檙e pushing our closest allies into their arms,鈥� U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told a hearing this week.

When asked by a reporter about Starmer’s Beijing visit, Trump said it was 鈥渧ery dangerous for them to do that.鈥�

鈥淎nd it鈥檚 even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China,鈥� said Trump, who himself is . “Canada is not doing well. They鈥檙e doing very poorly. And you can鈥檛 look at China as the answer.鈥�

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas acknowledged that China poses a long-term challenge because of its 鈥渆conomic coercive practices,鈥� but added, 鈥渓ike I say, reach out to different partnerships, with different countries across the world.鈥�

While Europe is , 鈥渋t’s not a China pivot,鈥� said Una Aleksandra B膿rzi艈a-膶erenkova, deputy director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs in Riga. 鈥滻t’s a pivot towards sort of fending for Europe as a bloc.鈥�

Europe’s quandary with the US and China

With a desire to bypass EU leadership in Brussels, Beijing is engaging one-on-one with European capitals, said Alicia Garcia Herrero, an Asia-Pacific economist at the French investment bank Natixis and an expert on Europe鈥檚 relations with China.

China wants to keep the status quo with Europe: easy access to affluent consumers while offering few concessions to European businesses in the Chinese market, she said.

鈥淭hey need Europe, but they don鈥檛 need to fight for Europe,” Garcia Herrero said.

Tim R眉hlig, senior analyst at the European Union Institute for Security Studies in Paris, sees an irreversible shift in Europe’s relations with the world’s two largest economies.

鈥淔or the U.S., it has been Greenland. For China, it has been the October ,鈥� he said. 鈥淏oth of these developments have, in my view, substantially contributed to a European understanding that we face two major powers that are not shy to bully the EU.鈥�

European leaders are visiting China for largely the same reasons Trump will: China鈥檚 sizable economy, its role in global affairs and a need to establish reliable communication channels.

鈥淓veryone goes to Beijing, including the guy who doesn鈥檛 want us to go to China,鈥� said Joerg Wuttke, former president of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and now partner of the consultancy DGA Group.

Canada leads the way

In 2024, Justin Trudeau, then Canada’s prime minister, acted in lockstep with the Biden administration to levy a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles to protect the U.S. auto industry.

On Carney’s this month 鈥� the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years 鈥� he slashed the tariff in return for lower import rates on Canadian farm products. Carney called the Canada-China trade relationship 鈥渕ore predictable,” a swipe at Trump’s tariff threats on Canada.

After Carney’s return, Trump a 100% tariff on Canada over its . Carney .

In Davos, Carney condemned coercion by great powers on smaller countries without naming Trump. 鈥淢iddle powers must act together, because if we鈥檙e not at the table, we鈥檙e on the menu,鈥� he said.

Those words have resonated across Europe.

European nations are recalibrating ties with Beijing

this week, becoming the first British prime minister to visit China in eight years. The countries have been at odds on issues including security, Chinese technology and Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in the former British colony of Hong Kong.

But this week, Starmer and Xi called for a strategic partnership. 鈥淲orking together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times for the world is precisely what we should be doing as we build this relationship in the way that I鈥檝e described,鈥� Starmer told Xi in Beijing.

The trip has yielded a raft of business announcements and government agreements, including lower Chinese tariffs on Scotch whisky and 30-day visa-free travel to China for British tourists and business visitors.

Days earlier, Orpo, the Finnish prime minster, sat down with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and signed a deal to cooperate on sustainable construction, energy and animal disease management.

A Finnish government statement said Orpo also called on China to help achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine, noted the trade imbalance and called attention to human rights issues.

, Irish Prime Minister Miche谩l Martin and also visited in past weeks.

Now, Merz is set to visit Beijing for the first time as Germany’s chancellor. He has taken a tougher stance on China than his predecessors and is expected to reset relations while addressing some of his country’s concerns: the trade deficit and dependence on China for critical minerals.

As Europe and other U.S. allies inch closer to Beijing, some analysts warned of dangerous divisions in the West.

鈥淚t will be impossible for the U.S. and Western countries to unite to, as appropriate, either isolate China or set and enforce conditions for connectivity and cooperation,鈥� said Scott Kennedy, senior adviser for Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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Tang reported from Washington.

An earlier version of this story said Una Aleksandra B膿rzi艈a-膶erenkova is director of the Latvian Institute of International Affairs. She is deputy director.

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