Gordon Sondland, the new ambassador of the European Union, sent to Brussels, said that the United States and the European Union must overcome trade disputes in order to resist and tackle the Chinese economic aggression together.
Sondland, citing concerns such as Chinese overproduction, state subsidies and rules requiring foreign companies to share their know-how with Chinese companies, said "I see real opportunities for transatlantic relations that have the potential to become a force that can reduce Chinese economic aggression and unfair commercial practices ".
He then expressed, with a well-known constructive, he added "We all share an interest in seeing China offer greater market access and eliminate unfair commercial practices, and together we can insist that China take the necessary steps to enable its economy to operate fairer ".
Trump's decision to abandon the Iranian nuclear agreement, its imposition of duties on EU metal exports and its insistence that European allies increase military spending and lower import tariffs have overturned long-standing transatlantic ties and warm.
Despite Trump's tariffs on European exports, Brussels shares Washington's preoccupation with China's closed markets and what Western governments claim to be Beijing's dominance of global trade through state intervention and subsidies.
However, the European Union and the United States have different strategies for dealing with Chinese economic policy.
Trump has hit China with billions of dollars in tariffs in July and is considering imposing further duties on Chinese imports for another 200 billion dollars. The European Union rejects this approach, relying instead on global forums such as the World Trade Organization to reduce excess steel capacity and avoid subsidies that distort the market.