The South China Morning Post reports:

The world shook this weekend as deep cracks appeared in the transatlantic alliance during a glitzy security summit in Munich. One guest was ready to capitalise: China.

Top officials from the United States and Europe spent a chaotic weekend trading barbs over values, Ukraine and democracy, with US Vice-President J.D. Vance clashing with a series of German leaders over his courting of the far-right ahead of next week’s federal election.

“The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It’s not China, it’s not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within,” said Vance, who later met Alice Weidel, the leader of the Alternative for Germany, which has been branded “extremist” by German authorities, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Over lunch on Saturday, meanwhile, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg stoked further despair by saying Europe would not be included in peace talks, even as European boots would be expected on the ground in Ukraine. Vance and others also hinted that America’s security guarantee for Europe was in question.

In the margins, Beijing was making hay.

In a diplomatic blitz, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative opponent Friedrich Merz, Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, and counterparts from the European Union, Germany, Spain, and France. On each occasion, according to foreign ministry statements, he pitched China as a partner to Europe and a friend of the existing order.

“China is pleased to see Germany play an important role in the multipolar pattern and is willing to deepen all-round cooperation … and provide more certainty for the turbulent world,” Wang told Scholz, according to a readout.

During a meeting with the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, Wang “emphasised that China supports all efforts conducive to peace and supports Europe’s important role in the peace talks process,” contrasting with Kellogg’s assertions that Europe should not be involved.

Wang made a more blatant pitch to Europe during a keynote speech on Friday, where – right after Vance – he said talk of “China attempting to change the [global] order” has gone quiet in light of Trump’s return.

“Now we don’t see much talk of that because now there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organisations and I think in Europe, you can feel chills almost every day,” the veteran diplomat said.

While Wang’s language was not new, it was in stark contrast with Vance’s. The clear conclusion for many observers was that China sees an opening to improve ties with Europe and, potentially, drive a new wedge in the already fraught transatlantic alliance.

“On China’s side, there’s a great opportunity now that the ideological-driven alliance between the US and EU is subject to change,” said Cheng Li, the founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, who described the US’ rhetoric at the summit as “astonishing”.

The early signs are that after a stormy few years in the EU-China relationship, some leaders in a Trump-battered Europe might be receptive to Beijing’s advances.

“This is a massive victory for China. It is just amazing what Trump has delivered to them, in less than a month,” said one European diplomat, who was not authorised to speak publicly. [Continue reading…]