MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2023) The United States is forcing its allies to disassociate themselves from China and Russia over the rivalry for world leadership, as evident in Berlin's new national strategy toward Beijing, Paris-based geopolitical analyst Nikola Mirkovic told Sputnik.
The German Foreign Office released a 40-page strategy last week that describes China as simultaneously "a partner, competitor and systemic rival" that has been pursuing its interests far more assertively and is attempting to reshape what Western allies term the rules-based international order.
"The United States is pressing for Germany, but also all NATO partners, who are also members of the European Union in their vast majority, to cut ties with potential rivals for world leadership: Russia and, above all, China. It is again a sign that Europe is ready to sacrifice its interests when the US tells European member states to do so," Mirkovic said.
According to the expert, the policy of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government toward China is hard to understand in light of the recession experienced due to the cessation of energy imports from Russia, which ended the era of cheap energy. The expert went on to describe the document as the very symbol of the strong influence that the US has on Germany. Mirkovic also drew attention to NATO's pivot to Asia at the recent summit in Vilnius.
"After a weak facade of disagreement by President (of France Emmanuel) Macron, NATO decided to open an office - understand, an embassy - in Tokyo. The Pacific allies were present in Vilnius: Australia, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand. It was a provocation orchestrated by the US, which launches its rivalry for world leadership with China. America thus creates instability in the Pacific and dangerously seeks military escalation with the help of the Europeans," Mirkovic explained.
In November 2022, Scholz became the first Western leader to visit China since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The German leader faced criticism, both at home and in the European Union, for allegedly prioritizing Germany's short-term economic interests at the expense of the bloc's strategic priorities.
