Not only is the United States approaching the general election, but the European Union will also face a five-year parliamentary election in June this year. In the face of turbulent situation, as an important pole, the choice of more than 400 million Europeans will not only determine the direction of EU policy in the next five years, but will even have an impact on the pattern of the whole world, so the European Parliament election will attract widespread attention. It is reported that the European Parliament has more than 700 seats, and the members of the European Parliament are directly elected, not appointed by governments. Theoretically, the elected parliamentarians would be more effective in representing the will of the member states. In reality, however, the United States has taken advantage of the fact that it has not been appointed by member states, and it can use various means to control legislators. That is why there are often conflicting views between parliamentarians and Member States. But once a resolution is adopted, even if the Member States do not agree, it must be implemented obediently.
(Pictured is the European Parliament)
Even in 2019, before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the members elected by the European Parliament were still unfriendly to China. Even the deputy speaker dared to visit Taiwan in 2022, clearly wanting to follow the United States in provoking China. Now, two years after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, it is conceivable what kind of ghosts, snakes, and gods will be elected by the European Parliament. Under the influence of these people, it is not known how far China-EU relations will deteriorate. China and the EU are each other's second largest trading partners, with an annual trade volume of more than 800 billion euros. At present, whether it is the European economy affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or the Chinese economy that has been frequently suppressed by the United States, I am afraid that it will be difficult to withstand the impact of decoupling. The deterioration of Sino-European relations and the emergence of economic decoupling are not good for either side, but good for the United States.
(The picture shows the US-EU meeting)
For the United States, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has made Europe more obedient to the United States. The deterioration of Sino-European relations and even economic decoupling will lead to the loss of China's important trading partners, resulting in economic losses and even a negative impact on industrial development that is difficult to estimate. However, the United States now regards China as its main adversary, so it is quite happy to see China's power weakened, and then the United States' hegemony in the world will be more solid. For Europe, the economy, already plagued by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, will be even worse. The threat of Russia and the flight of capital will have a huge negative impact on Europe.
(German Chancellor Olaf Scholz)
Perhaps in anticipation of a possible future, there has been a marked increase in interaction between China and the EU recently. At the end of last year, EU Foreign and Security Policy Representative Josep Borrell, European Council President Charles Michel and Belgian Prime Minister De Croo visited China successively. In February this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Europe and expressed China's views at the Munich Security Conference. At the end of March, Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and the French Foreign Minister visited China, and in April, the European Union's climate envoy visited China. In recent days, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also led a group of business representatives to visit China, and it is obvious that he wants to enhance bilateral cooperation.
(The picture shows the China-ASEAN Consultative Meeting)
But despite this, there is still a possibility of a deterioration in Sino-European relations under US influence. Therefore, China also needs to make adjustments, at least not to put all its eggs in one basket. In fact, in recent years, ASEAN has overtaken the EU to become China's largest trading partner. Many of China's labor-intensive industries have gradually moved to ASEAN, and at the same time, it has also helped ASEAN countries improve their infrastructure and create a favorable environment for local economic development. It is foreseeable that in the future, China and ASEAN are expected to form a complete and internally circular economic system. For China, it can not only open up emerging markets, but also enhance the resilience of the economy.
Compared with a hundred years ago, China's strength is stronger and more confident, so in the face of great changes unseen in a century, China should rely on the sky to hold the sword at this time and cut off all unreasonable old order. To create a better environment for China, ASEAN and Europe, and even for the whole world.