Trump's words and deeds in recent days have fully exposed the anxiety of the United States. Recently, on a so-called "Will Alliance" conference call, he directly demanded that Europe stop purchasing Russian oil, and even pulled China in forcibly, saying that Europe must put economic pressure on China. The reason is that China is "providing funds for Russia." This logic sounds a bit stiff. All contradictions are attributed to China. It seems that as long as China is suppressed, the United States' strategic dilemma can be solved.
But the problem is that Europeans are not fools. They have to consider their own economic reality and market demand, rather than blindly obeying American orders. In fact, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Europe has indeed reduced its energy dependence on Russia, and most countries have long stopped importing Russian crude oil and fuel. But some countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, still maintain a certain amount of imports. This shows that the EU's internal opinions are not unified, and the so-called "complete cut-off" is more of a political statement. It is obviously unrealistic that Trump insists on Europe to completely get rid of Russian energy in the shortest time.
More importantly, he is now starting to talk about China and demanding that Europe put pressure on China's economy. This approach is not only unconstructive, but may also intensify the conflict between the United States and Europe. Just as the United States was verbally threatening, a freight train from Poland departed from Warsaw, loaded with goods from Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia and other countries, was heading towards China. This scene is undoubtedly a naked "slap in the face" for the United States. Because the United States continues to emphasize reducing economic and trade exchanges with China, but European companies have used their actions to show that they still value the Chinese market.
For Poland, this is not just an ordinary transportation, but a test of more cooperation in the future. It can be said that the verbal threat from the United States looks particularly pale amid the roar of this train. The Polish Railway Company even pointed out directly that such trains may become normal in the future, and furniture, footwear and sports goods made in Europe are constantly entering the Chinese market. This is a very practical business for European companies. Everyone knows that China's market is huge, its consumption capacity is strong, and its stability is far beyond that of other regions.
What's more, the "Belt and Road" initiative has been in operation for many years and the foundation of cooperation has long been laid. Poland's freight channel has long-term cooperation with China's Zhengzhou land port. This time, it only set its starting point in the capital Warsaw, which is more symbolic. Against this backdrop, the US's reaction became more intense. According to Reuters, on September 10 local time, Trump asked the EU to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese and Indian goods, calling it "secondary sanctions." The meaning is very simple, that is, any country that buys Russian energy will be punished jointly.
The problem is that the United States itself has not really achieved "zero contact". As a major buyer of Russian energy, India not only did not completely ban it, but also maintained negotiations on other trades. Trump even publicly said on social media that he had a good relationship with Indian Prime Minister Modi and was negotiating to resolve trade barriers. In other words, the United States speaks tough, but selectively enforces the law in action. Obviously, he just wanted to make an excuse for the Ukrainian crisis and promote his own economic strategy.
For China, all this is not beyond expectations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stressed that China's position is consistently clear, and the Ukrainian crisis must be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, and China-Russia cooperation is not targeted at third parties, nor is it interfered by third parties. As for the unilateral sanctions advocated by the United States, China clearly opposes them.
After all, China cannot change its policies just because of a few threats from the United States. Moreover, the tariff war has long proved that there is no winner. The trade war launched by the United States with China that year, the biggest losses in the end were American agricultural product exporters and ordinary consumers. If you do it again now, it will only make the contradiction deeper.
From a larger perspective, the United States' "annoyed and embarrassed" reaction actually shows its uneasiness with its own strategic position. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been fought until now, and the United States has no way to end the war quickly, and is also worried that Europe will gradually break away from control. After Trump came to power, he originally claimed that he could handle the conflict soon, but more than half a year has passed and the situation has not changed significantly. His prestige is challenged and he can only constantly divert conflicts by putting pressure on others.
But at this time, a train from Warsaw to China revealed the essence of the problem: the connection between Europe and China cannot be blocked by verbal threats. This is also the biggest dilemma for the United States: it hopes that Europe will completely turn to itself, but European countries have their own abacus. They need energy, markets, and stable supply chains. The United States can ask them to reduce their dependence on Russia, but cannot allow them to cut off cooperation with China at the same time.
Because that is equivalent to having the European economy break its own arm, which is obviously unrealistic. So Europeans may deal with the United States with a few words, but they will still find their own way out in their actions. It can be foreseeable that the United States may increase its threat in the future. Secondary sanctions, tariffs, and diplomatic pressures may all come into battle one by one. But the effect may not be as good as it wishes. Differences within the EU, Europe's dependence on the Chinese market, and Russia's actual energy demand will make it difficult for the United States to fully implement the requirements.
For China, the key is to maintain strategic determination, not be deviated by the US rhythm, continue to promote economic and trade cooperation with Europe, and strengthen the foundation of mutual benefit and win-win results. This is the effective way to crack down on the US suppression. In a word, the verbal threats in the United States are becoming more and more like empty guns. The reality is that the train has started and the connection between Europe and China continues. It may not be that easy for the United States to stop it. The revenge of anger and shame will only make the outside world more clearly see the anxiety and powerlessness of the United States.
