Beijing, Brussels can make joint efforts to prevent US leading world astray: China Daily editorial

The Joe Biden administration is exhausting all possible means to try and drive a wedge between China and the rest of the world. But the high-level strategic dialogue State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell via video link on Tuesday indicates how divorced the US scheme is from reality and how self-defeating it is.

Their dialogue showed the willingness of the EU and China to strengthen their exchanges is only becoming stronger because of the US' divisive efforts. The US pretends to be ignorant of European countries' sensitivity to being made the front line in another US-manufactured Cold War. Not to mention that the country the US has in its sights is the EU's major partner in trade and investment.

In the dialogue, Borrell reiterated the significance the EU attaches to developing ties and keeping close exchanges with China. He spoke highly of the proposals President Xi Jinping made at the General Debate of the 76th Session of the United National General Assembly to promote global development, acknowledging their potential to address poverty and boost the post-pandemic global recovery.

His remarks showed the EU's willingness to seek common ground while shelving differences, expand cooperation and reduce antagonism.

The EU, too, benefits from China's development. It knows that China's rise as a responsible big country is in line with the common interests of the world, and the US' anti-China stance originates from its anxiety about losing its hegemony.

As Wang pointed out, while China is working together with the EU and other like-minded partners to promote common development, the US is colluding with the United Kingdom and Australia, to build and deploy nuclear submarines in the Asia-Pacific.

Apparently, after finding it impossible to persuade the EU to sacrifice its diplomatic independence, the US has formed a new Anglo-Saxon clique within the West. It is a move that only aggravates geographical tensions and threatens to trigger an arms race.

China and the EU have no reason not to stand together to uphold the international order based on the UN Charter and international law, and shun the new Cold War the US seeks to mire the world in.

With Borrell telling Wang that the EU is willing to work with China to prepare for the next stage of high-level exchanges between them, the two sides should build on the many consensuses that have been reached in their recent exchanges and seek to consolidate mutual understanding and trust so as to advance their relations and prevent the US from leading the world disastrously astray.