Trunov Philipp Olegovich – Ph.D. in Political Sciences, Leading Researcher, INION RAS
Fierce competition between the USA and China is having an increasing impact on the global world, including the positions of the European states. This article is a profile introduction to the new issue of the journal «Current Problems of Europe», dedicated to the problems associated with the attitude of European countries to the deterrence of China. The European dimension of competition in the Indo-Pacific region (IPR) has not yet been sufficiently explored. Since the establishment of relations between the United States and China in 1972, their dialogue has been carried out in the form of interaction with elements of full cooperation. The «starting point» for the degradation of relations was the failure of the United States to implement the G2 initiative in the early 2010s. The White House perceived China’s refusal to follow the mainstream of American policy as a «deception» on the part of the PRC and in response intensified its policy of deliberate ambivalence towards Taiwan, again (for the first time since 1979) demonstratively drawing closer to the authorities in Taipei. In the second half of the 2010s, the USA established a system of the deterrence of China, acting in a national capacity. Under the Biden administration, new features have emerged in the policy of deterrence. The White House has created the system of military-political formats with the participation of partners in the ITR to the north and south of Taiwan. The issue of the participation of European allies in deterrence of the PRC, which first arose in 2021, was largely resolved in 2022. While improving the system of deterrence, the White House at the same time sought to ensure that the confrontation was manageable. The duality of US goals towards China was clearly demonstrated at the negotiations between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in Indonesia (November 15, 2022) and in California (November 15, 2023).
USA, PRC, «theory of deception», policy of deliberate ambivalence, deterrence, confrontation management, Taiwan, AUKUS, Partners in the Blue Pacific, NATO, EU, European continental member states.
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