Deeper China-EU Ties
In an hourlong phone call with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on December 20, Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping expressed excitement over deeper ties with the European Union.
China supports the strategic autonomy of the EU, and hopes that the EU will adhere to the basic position of China and the EU as strategic partners of each other, uphold mutual respect, mutual inclusiveness, practical cooperation and mutual benefit, as well as maintain that China-EU relations should not target, depend on or be subject to any third party.
—Xi Jinping, according to Chinese state media
The phone call was in honor of the 50th year of China’s diplomatic ties with Germany. And the unnamed “third party” was a reference to the United States, which Xi aims to pry Europe further from.
Steinmeier’s request: In the phone call, Steinmeier expressed his concern over Russia’s aggression. He asked Xi to use his influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war on Ukraine. According to Steinmeier’s official website:
The federal president emphasized China’s and Europe’s shared interest in an end to the war, as well as in the preservation of Ukrainian sovereignty and the withdrawal of Russian troops, which are needed to achieve this. He asked Xi to use his influence on Russia and urge Putin to act accordingly.
Xi’s response to Steinmeier’s request was that “China insists on promoting peace talks, expressing the belief that prolonging and complicating the crisis is not in the interests of all sides.”
Cooperation prophesied: The Bible prophesies of a deeply entwined China-Europe economic relationship. Isaiah 23 foretells of a “mart of nations,” or an economic alliance, and uses ancient terms referring to both China and Europe showing that they will be lead players in the alliance.
Taken in context, the prophecies of Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 27 align perfectly with those of Revelation 13:16-17 and Revelation 18. These all point specifically to the current interdependence of the world’s two major trading blocs: the German-dominated EU and China.
–Brad Macdonald and Ron Fraser, “The Great ‘Mart of Nations’”
Germany has not let China’s closeness with Russia get in the way of cooperation, and we should expect Germany to increasingly lead Europe to closer ties with China. To learn more about how Germany has cozied up to China in recent months, read “Germany Forges New Economic Alliance With China.”
