Farewell to the ‘unipolar moment’: Europe scrambles for footing between US and China

On the margins of a glitzy security event in Bavaria, the foreign ministers of France and Germany revived a dormant diplomatic format with China, in what was described as part of a larger effort to prevent the world’s superpowers from picking Europe apart.

France’s Jean-Noel Barrot and Germany’s Johann Wadephul hosted China’s Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, reviving a configuration not seen since the days of French President Emmanuel Macron’s first term.

“If we do not stick together, then we are screwed,” said one official, explaining the decision.

“They look at which country has which sector, be it French brandy or German cars, and they find it very easy to divide us. We need to stop this and start thinking about this together,” the official added.

The small diplomatic gesture was emblematic of a thread running through the first day of Europe’s premier security gathering. European leaders took potshots at the US political shift under US President Donald Trump and China’s assertiveness under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, to make the case for continental independence.

“China wants to be a leader in shaping the world, and it has paved the ground for that over many years. With strategic patience in the foreseeable future, Beijing could be on an equal footing with the United States in military terms,” said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who accused Beijing of “redefining the international order in its own favour”.