More than 40% of Europeans surveyed also saw China as a 'necessary partner', while 35% saw the Asian powerhouse as a 'rival' to their country.
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| Statistics show that the majority of respondents believe that Europe should remain neutral if the US and China confront each other in the Taiwan Strait. (Source: ECFR) |
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) recently released a new report surveying Europeans' attitudes towards international issues.
The ECFR report, based on a poll of 16,168 people in 11 countries, found that nearly three-quarters of Europeans (74%) think the continent should cut its military dependence on the US and invest in its own defense capabilities.
Notably, according to the report, 43% of Europeans see China as a “necessary partner” and 35% see Beijing as a “rival” to their country. At the same time, the majority of those surveyed believe that Europe should remain neutral in any conflict between the US and China over Taiwan, suggesting that they tend to agree with the French president’s stance on China.
Earlier, in an interview with Politico (USA) in April, Mr. Emmanuel Macron said that the “big risk” facing Europe is “being drawn into crises that are not its own,” including the Taiwan issue, preventing Europe from “building strategic autonomy,” adding that Europe should oppose becoming “a follower of the United States.”
However, the ECFR report found that if Beijing decided to supply arms and ammunition to Russia, more Europeans (41% vs. 33%) would be willing to punish China, even if it caused serious damage to their economies. Respondents also opposed the prospect of China owning important European infrastructure, such as bridges or ports (65%), technology companies (52%), and owning a newspaper in their country (58%).
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