Recently Yahoo News on line picked up the following:
China courts frazzled Europe as Western alliance wavers
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South China Morning Post
Sun, February 16, 2025 at 1:30 a.m. PST·6 min read
The world shook this weekend as deep cracks appeared in the transatlantic alliance during a glitzy security summit in Munich. One guest was ready to capitalise: China.
Top officials from the United States and Europe spent a chaotic weekend trading barbs over values, Ukraine and democracy, with US Vice-President J.D. Vance clashing with a series of German leaders over his courting of the far-right ahead of next week's federal election.
"The threat that I worry the most about vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia. It's not China, it's not any other external actor. And what I worry about is the threat from within," said Vance, who later met Alice Weidel, the leader of the insurgent Alternative for Germany, which has been branded "extremist" by German authorities, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
Over lunch on Saturday, meanwhile, Trump's special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg stoked further despair by saying Europe would not be included in peace talks, even as European boots would be expected on the ground in Ukraine. Vance and others also hinted that America's security guarantee for Europe was in question.
In the margins, Beijing was making hay.
In a diplomatic blitz, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative opponent Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, and counterparts from the EU, Germany, Spain, and France. On each occasion, according to foreign ministry readouts, he pitched China as a partner to Europe and a friend of the existing order.
"China is pleased to see Germany play an important role in the multipolar pattern and is willing to deepen all-round cooperation... and provide more certainty for the turbulent world," Wang told Scholz, according to a readout.
During a meeting with the EU's top diplomat Kaja Kallas, meanwhile, Wang "emphasised that China supports all efforts conducive to peace and supports Europe's important role in the peace talks process," contrasting with Kellogg's assertions that Europe should not be involved.
"Now we don't see much talk of that because now there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organisations and I think in Europe, you can feel chills almost every day," the veteran diplomat said.
While Wang's language was not new, it resonated in stark contrast with Vance's. The clear conclusion for many observers was that China sees an opening to improve ties with Europe and, potentially, drive a new wedge in the already fraught transatlantic alliance.
"On China's side, there's a great opportunity now that the ideological driven alliance between US and EU is subject to change," said Cheng Li, the founding director of the Centre on Contemporary China and the World at the University of Hong Kong, who described the US' rhetoric at the summit as "astonishing".
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Translation
正當西方聯盟動搖之際，中國試圖取悅感到筋疲力盡的歐洲 (1/2)
本週末，在慕尼黑舉行的盛大安全峰會上，跨大西洋聯盟出現了嚴重裂痕，令世界震驚。有一位客人準備利用這一點：中國。
美國和歐洲的高層官員度過了一個混亂的周末，就價值觀、烏克蘭和民主等問題互相指責，美國副總統 J.D. 萬斯因在下週聯邦選舉前向極右翼示好而與多位德國領導人發生摩擦。
萬斯說: 「我最擔心的歐洲威脅不是俄羅斯，不是中國，也不是任何其他外部勢力。我擔心的是來自內部的威脅」。萬斯隨後在慕尼黑安全會議期間順道會見了德國反叛派另類選擇黨領袖Alice
Weidel，該黨被德國當局定性為「極端分子」。
同時，週六午餐時, 特朗普烏克蘭事務特使 Keith Kellogg 表示，儘管歐洲軍隊預計將會在烏克蘭出現，但歐洲不會被納入和平談判，這進一步加劇了人們的絕望情緒。萬斯等人也暗示美國給歐洲的安全保障存在着問題。
在不被留意之間中，北京方面正爭取機會。
在一輪外交閃電戰中，王毅外長先後會見德國總理朔爾茨、反對派保守黨的 Friedrich Merz、北約秘書長呂特, 以及歐盟、德國、西班牙、法國等國外官員。根據外交部的記錄，在每一次活動中，他都將中國描述為歐洲的合作夥伴和現有秩序的朋友。
一份聲明稱，王毅對朔爾茨表示： “中方高興看到德國在多極格局中發揮重要作用，願深化全方位合作……為動蕩的世界提供更多確定性。”
同時，在會見歐盟外長 Kaja Kallas 時，王毅 “強調中國支持一切有利於和平的努力，支持歐洲在和談進程中發揮重要作用”，這與 Kellogg 關於歐洲不應參與的主張形成了鮮明對比。
在周五的主題演講中，王毅更加公然地向歐洲推銷 - 在萬斯之後，他表示，隨著特朗普的回歸，他說對「中國試圖改變[全球]秩序」的討論已經變得沉默。
這位資深外交官表示： “現在我們很少聽到這方面的談論，因為現在有一個國家正在退出國際條約和組織，我認為在歐洲，你幾乎每天都能感受到寒意。”
儘管王的語言並不新鮮，但卻與萬斯的語言形成了鮮明的對比。許多觀察家得出的明確結論是，中國看到了改善與歐洲關係的機會，並暗地在本已緊張的跨大西洋聯盟中製造新的分裂。
香港大學當代中國與世界研究中心創始主任 Cheng Li表示：「對中國而言，現在有一個很好的機會，因為美國和歐盟之間受意識形態帶動的聯盟可能會發生變化」。他認為美國在峰會上的言論「令人震驚」。
（未完待續）
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