Player or playground? Europe sidelined again as rivals US and China cut deals on its soil

“It’s striking that Washington and Beijing are ironing out their trade disputes on European soil, while Europe itself is largely sidelined,” Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, said.

“The two superpowers are playing on Europe’s pitch – but Europe isn’t even in the game in some ways.”

“That’s an extraordinary demand, considering the US itself is keeping its post-April ‘Liberation Day’ truce with China in place and rolling it over,” Tordoir, the economist, observed.

“The Trump administration clearly got scared about Chinese retaliation capacity, especially China choking off rare earth supplies on which US firms rely.”