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Saturday, November 16, 2019

Europe is squeezed between a hungry China and surly US

With Angela Merkel on the way out, who can keep the union intact as Beijing expands its influence and Trump’s hostility increases? The idea of Xi Jinping as a modern-day Odysseus seems a little far-fetched. But China’s globetrotting president proved a match for Homer’s hero last week when he trundled a Trojan horse deep inside the EU city gates – with an enthusiastic helping push from the Greeks. It was a classical, even epic, piece of opportunism. Xi’s visit to Athens marked a breakthrough moment in China’s decades-long siege of Europe’s markets. A series of deals will raise its investment in Greece to around €2.5bn. More significantly, Xi expanded Beijing’s foothold in the strategic port of Piraeus, from whence a rising tide of Chinese imports flow into the EU. Continue reading...


READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com