European leaders would no doubt adore drowning the continent in Chinese trinkets—think of the kickbacks, the “consulting” gigs, the golden parachutes neatly prepared once Beijing holds up its end of the bargain. The problem? That would require a Europe with stable politics, and stability here is becoming as rare as cheap gas in winter.
The Commission will certainly thrash about, desperate to keep the dream alive, but without buy-in from the big beasts—Germany, France, Italy—the machine sputters. And those very economies are lurching through political squalls that make consensus look like a relic of some long-dead age.
Leaders already smell the coming sea change; elections whisper the end of globalization, and the illusion of salvation through “international cooperation” dissolves like sugar in rainwater. In the end, European nations will have to rebuild from the ground up, locally, with whatever tools remain. If they can’t, they won’t last.
So yes, good luck with that cooperation. You’ll need it.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/09/07/world/china-europe-climate-connection/