Three Summits recently took place in Europe, marking President Biden’s first foreign trip, but the most notable and consistent theme in all three meetings was the effort to deal with China.
Three summits – One goal
From a European perspective, President Biden’s one-week trip seems to have been a great success.
US President Joe Biden.
The 46th President of the United States did not disappoint his allies.
The sigh of relief from European officials was noticeable, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen friendly calling the US President `Dear Joe`.
`Mr. Biden’s language and tone are everything Europe expected,` said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Long-term differences between the United States and Europe remain, at least on the issue of defense budgets.
Before Mr. Biden’s first foreign trip since taking office, there has been much speculation about the US leader’s strategic priorities.
However, Mr. Biden’s visit conveyed the most important message, which is the US leader’s focus on the China issue.
`President Biden’s message to Europe is: ‘Don’t worry, I brought America back. But now let me do my real work in the Indo-Pacific.’
In addition, the contrast in the meeting between President Biden and former President Trump with Russian President Putin is probably the most notable point of Mr. Biden’s trip.
The actual goal would be to make the US-Russia relationship less dangerous and less unstable.
All of the above developments are not random actions but a calculation by President Biden.
`The more respectfully President Biden treats Russia, the easier it will be for him to loosen the bond between Russia and China,` said analyst Fiona Hill, who was an advisor on Russia under President Trump.
Some US partners such as France, Japan and India are also trying to promote closer relations with Russia as the relationship between these countries and China increasingly declines.
`At least the US should stop pushing Russia into China’s arms even though separating these two countries will take more than one presidential term,` observer Shapiro assessed.
President Biden’s geopolitical chess game
However, President Biden’s geopolitical chess game is still full of obstacles, chief among which is Europe’s reluctance to consider China an `existing concern` the same way the US sees it.
Europe still has a long way to go to follow in the US’s footsteps of banning sensitive Chinese technology companies across the continent, such as Huawei’s 5G network.
President Biden is also limited by European skepticism about whether he will be re-elected in 2024.
However, the atmosphere in Europe shows that President Biden has succeeded in convincing allies of America’s temporary return.
`Professional diplomats have returned. Mr. Biden’s team is experienced and understands this game,` observer Niblett assessed.
However, there is an undeniable fact that the Atlantic Ocean is no longer the most important geopolitical environment in the world in the eyes of the United States.
Nick John