As Beijing seeks to influence Europe, Brussels must shape on its own competitiveness agenda and policy aims for engaging with China
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenKevin BroadyKevin Broady is the chief analyst at the China Office of Finnish Industries, a Finnish nonprofit company established by 25 Finnish MNCs to provide them with independent analysis on China. Published: 8:30pm, 8 May 2026The clock is ticking: the European Union has about two years to decide if it is willing to make the sacrifices and take the risks necessary to become the economic and political power it envisions itself to be. The EU’s proposed Industrial Accelerator and Cyber Security acts are up for negotiation within the bloc’s policymaking bodies. In around two years’ time, we will know their final form.Beijing has two years to influence this: that work has already started with carrots – proposals for a trade agreement with Europe – and sticks, in the form of new legislation to punish companies that threaten Chinese interests.
That Beijing will put its own interests first is no surprise, but Europe must use the pressure from Beijing to its advantage and finally decide how it engages with China. If Europe does not act now, it will drift into geopolitical insignificance and economic decline.
From the Middle East to the Indo-Pacific, the perceived recalibration of alliances is striking. China seeks to avoid taking sides, ostensibly in view of its relationship with the US, but first and foremost because Beijing prioritises stable, diversified supplies of energy resources, alongside technological and agricultural supply chain inputs.
