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The old relationship between China and Europe is over: Exports of Dutch-made chipmaking machines to Beijing are being blocked, Italy is set to exit the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investment pact, and the UK is caught in an escalating espionage dispute as it unplugs Huawei Technologies Co. from its 5G networks. And the inability of policymakers to define new terms of engagement is clear by just listening to them talk.
After the semantic splits of the European Union’s labeling of China as a simultaneous “partner,” “competitor” and “systemic rival” — and the more recent call for “de-risking” rather than costly “decoupling” — this week saw the UK define China as a “challenge” rather than a “foe.” Meanwhile, Rome called for “mutually beneficial” ties with Beijing after trashing the BRI’s 2019 memorandum of understanding as a “villainous” deal, following the late Silvio Berlusconi’s call for Italy to move away from a relationship of “structural subordination.”
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