The road not taken: The EU as strategic American partner and a balancer to a rising China

In the context of an increasingly competitive US–China rivalry, the intensity of which is unlikely to diminish in the foreseeable future, the EU finds itself with a unique challenge and a unique opportunity. It must reaffirm and assert its commitment to a strategic partnership with the US, foremost through increasing its cooperation with NATO and through a recommitment to forging ever-closer economic ties. The EU must also continue to offer bold, creative alternatives to a new bipolar global framework. In particular, these should emphasise the EU’s multilateral ties with partners around the world, as an important balance to potential conflict between the US and China.