In recent months, the European Union has been more Trumpian on China, renouncing part of its free-trade DNA in favour of increasingly protectionist policies. Just like its role model in Washington, the EU has tried to exact geopolitical and economic concessions from Beijing by escalating to de-escalate – a brinkmanship approach that seems to come straight from US President Donald Trump’s playbook in his trade war against China.

Officially, the EU followed a more assertive path in response to what it views as persistent and unfair Chinese trade practices, as well as what it sees as China’s covert support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Of course, this is not the full story – the Trump administration’s pressure on America’s European allies has also played a decisive role.