WASHINGTON. “Clearly show Vladimir Putin and China that the US and Europe are united”: before getting on Air Force One, Joe Biden explained the purpose of his mission to Europe, the first overseas trip of his presidency . A week-long tour that he hopes will allow him to face the expected face to face with the Tsar on June 16 in Geneva from a position of strength, with a renewed harmony of the Western powers at the British G7, at the NATO summit and at the US summit. EU. “America is back”, is the message of the commander in chief, determined to relaunch transatlantic relations by healing the wounds left by his predecessor Donald Trump, who four years ago traumatized European leaders by riding Brexit, whipping NATO as an alliance ” obsolete “with” parasitic “members and initially refusing to openly support the principle of mutual defense. But Biden’s challenge goes further and aims to recruit democracies into a new cold war against autocracies and dictatorships. Moscow and Beijing are in the sights. Russia is not seen as a real rival in the 21st century, but as an annoying power that compensates for its declining influence with hostile and divided actions, from cyber attacks to electoral interference. The real competitor is the Dragon, which has all the cards to contend with the US for economic, technological and military supremacy in the world. It is no coincidence these days Biden has ordered to strengthen the supply chains of strategic goods by making them less dependent on countries like China, while the Senate has bipartisanally approved a 250 billion dollar law to be injected into the technology industry to counter Beijing’s ambitions.
Furthermore, before leaving, the president canceled Trump’s bans against the Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat but ordered a broader investigation of software applications controlled by foreign powers to assess national security risks. Biden is expected to receive a warm welcome but the EU does not seem to see the Dragon or even Russia with the same glasses as Washington, also because it remains more dependent than the US on both countries for trade and energy. Suffice it to say that China is the largest German export market. And Brussels did not hesitate to sign the trade agreement with Beijing despite the American warning to slow down.
As one diplomat summed up, Europe doesn’t like what China does but the US doesn’t like what China is, the idea that it can become the leading power of this century. In a Europe with the unknown after Merkel and the French presidential elections, there is also the shadow of a return of Trump or his populist emulator. And the fear that as early as 2022 the Midterm elections could limit Biden’s room for maneuver. Accompanied only for the British stop by First Lady Jill, the US president will begin his visit by meeting on Thursday with British Prime Minister Boris Johson in Cornwall to reaffirm the special relationship between the US and the UK and agree on a new “Atlantic Charter” on the model of the one launched in 1941 by Churchill and Roosevelt: inspired by the same democratic values but focused on new challenges, such as cyber attacks, climate, pandemics. A task force is also expected to reopen travel between the two countries and an agreement for a technological cooperation agreement.
Then the G7, the first in attendance after the pandemic: on the agenda sustainable recovery, climate change, the minimun tax to multinationals, the fight against the virus with Biden’s announcement of the purchase by the US of 500 million Pfizer vaccines to be donated to the rest of the world. From the Carbis Bay hotel, where the summit will take place (probably also a bilateral Draghi-Biden), the seven leaders will be able to see a sculpture that portrays them on the model of the famous monument on Mount Rushmore, made by the British artist Joe Rush with waste electronic and therefore called «Mount Recyclemore». After being received on Sunday by Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Biden will then fly to Brussels. At the NATO summit on June 14, the focus will be on Russia and China, but also on the withdrawal from Afghanistan and hacking. The program includes a delicate bilateral between the American leader and the riotous ally Erdogan. The next day will be followed by the US-EU summit, with particular attention to tariffs. Then all eyes are on the heavily armored first face to face between Biden and Putin, whom the American president called a “killer” a few months ago: no breakthroughs are expected, but more than a few sparks are expected.