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JIN DING/CHINA DAILY

The EU should reject the invitation of the US to start a new Cold War and instead encourage it to participate in building a community with a shared future for humankind

Of the many challenges facing US President Joe Biden, repairing the trans-Atlantic relationship damaged by his predecessor remains one of the biggest. In his first international address at the Munich Security Conference by video on Feb 19, Biden sent a series of signals to his European allies, saying "the United States is back" and "the transatlantic alliance is back".

The European allies appreciated this, but did not seem as enthusiastic as Biden would have hoped. It is true that both the US and Europe have the will to blame the previous administration for their estrangement, put aside past grievances, rebuild friendship and consolidate the alliance. Many in Europe began offering olive branches even before the US Congress ratified Biden's November 2020 election victory. Biden, an Atlanticist, had himself promised during the election campaign that, if elected, he would push for the restoration of ties with Europe.

At an ideological level, US-European coordination has been revived. Europe has always emphasized democracy, human rights and other values as important elements in the transatlantic alliance. Expectedly, the ideological synergy between the two sides deteriorated for a while, thanks to the zero-sum mindset of the Trump administration. In contrast, Biden's admiration for the European Union, his opposition to Brexit and insistence on so-called democratic values give him more common ground with Europe.

In terms of interests, the US and Europe now have more in common and less conflicts. For example, the Trump administration believed that the Paris Agreement on climate change was harming domestic jobs and US international competitiveness, thus it was at odds with the EU on climate change actions. Now, with the Biden administration in office, tensions between the US and Europe on the environmental front have eased considerably.

Compared with the "cold alliance" during the Trump era, the significant warming of US-EU relations in the Biden era is welcomed. But it will be difficult to "go back to the past".

The US has changed. Trump's coming to power four years ago was the result of a substantial change in US society and public opinion. His four years in power have, in turn, intensified the existing populist trend. Trump's policies still have strong public support, and the forces of economic nationalism, protectionism and populism will continue to constrain the Biden administration for the next four years. Biden can reject Trump's "America First" doctrine, but he cannot deviate from it in policy implementation without being punished by domestic interest groups and voters. Therefore, in areas such as energy and the environment, Biden's renewed engagement with Europe is likely to show limited practical results. In economic and investment affairs, reviving the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations suspended under the Trump administration will also be difficult.

The EU too has changed, increasingly laying emphasis on "strategic autonomy" at the foreign relations level in recent years. That is not only necessary for the construction of the EU's own "sovereignty", but also a response to the series of unilateral and populist actions taken by the US in recent years.

Europeans worry about the US once again going its own way on key issues in the future and abandoning Europe. The European mindset of unconditional dependence on the US has therefore changed.

Besides, the long-term weak economic growth, unsustainable high welfare, the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian war, Brexit and other issues have spawned a populist trend in Europe, which is similar in spirit to the one that Trump championed in the US. The Trump-style nationalism on the rise in some EU member states will also pose an obstacle to deep US-European coordination.

And lest we forget, the entire world has changed. The orientation of major countries should shift from zero-sum competition and mutual harm to positive-sum mutual benefits.

"Uniting European allies to check and balance the rising China" is at the heart of Biden's global strategy. However, as State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out at the Opening of Lanting Forum, hosted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Feb 22, "Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China has all along respected the choices made by the US people, welcomed the strong growth momentum of the US, and never interfered in its internal affairs. We have no intention to challenge or replace the US. We are ready to have peaceful coexistence and seek common development with the US."

As a sovereign international actor with increasing strategic autonomy and international influence, Europe is unwilling to be an old pawn in the new Cold War. The same is true of other countries around the world.

For Europe, China is also an indispensable all-around strategic partner. According to observers, the China-EU landmark geographical indications (GIs) agreement that came into effect on March 1, protecting the first batch of 100 European GIs in China and 100 Chinese GIs in the EU against usurpation and imitation, reflects the increased mutual trust between the two major economies and will steadily boost bilateral trade.

In the post-pandemic era, the global public opinion favors peace and cooperation, and this will only become more mainstream and dominant. Therefore, world leaders should have enough wisdom to follow the trend of the times and make decisions that benefit the world, as well as their countries.

The author is director of the Research Department of the Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies at Renmin University of China. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.