The US focus on Asia has left EU policymakers trying to work out what to do

Europe has had mixed feelings about the return of the US to Asia in recent years. Most European Union officials and European scholars deny having any apprehension, especially in front of China, affirming the solid foundation of the trans-Atlantic relationship. They argue that talking about the US focus on Asia proves nothing but that Asia is more troubled about the matter than is Europe. One of the writer's friends in Brussels reckons the US could not shift its focus to Asia with the international date line the way it is.

However, the truth is that Europe has played down its fear on this issue. In general, it has four concerns on the US strategic return to Asia.

First, the US may reduce its commitment to safeguard Europe, as a result of which Europe's international influence will be greatly weakened.

Instead of an equal trans-Atlantic relationship, Europe is now concerned that the US, in focusing on its trans-Pacific relationship, is neglecting Europe. It has to seek strategic partnerships with new emerging economies to regain US attention. The EU's involvement in the Syrian and Iranian issues is one of the ways it is trying to win back US attention.

Practically, the EU fears that the strategic advance of the US into Asia may result in its military retreat from Europe and the Middle East. The Asia-Pacific region will drain so much US energy that it cannot keep its promise to safeguard Europe. The US has warned the EU not to cut its defense spending because of the debt crisis. It is clear the EU can no longer get a free ride from the US, and that it must take responsibility for keeping Europe and the neighborhood out of trouble.

Second, the US focus on Asia is a first step away from its being a global power, which hurts the West's leadership, and the EU will suffer as a result.

For a long time Europe has fancied the concept of "the West", but the US generally sees itself as part of "the international community" rather than as a part of the West. Europe is now realizing that it has overemphasized the importance of the West. It fears that once US hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region is accomplished it will find itself on the margins. This is perfectly manifested in the book The End of the West: The Once and Future Europe, by David Marquand.

Third, the hardline US presence may intensify antagonism in the Asia-Pacific region, as a result of which trade between the EU and the region will be greatly disrupted.

What frightens Europe most about the US return to Asia is that it may irritate Asian countries to make a choice between the US and a rising China. It may sharpen regional competition in a way that provokes a large-scale arms race. If it does, trade between Europe and Asia-Pacific nations will be disrupted. Recent reports saying that Asia's military spending exceeds that of Europe has exacerbated EU fears on the issue.

In addition, the EU is worried about the antagonism between the US and China caused by the former's strategic shift to Asia. The EU is short of oil so it cannot follow the US and cut oil imports from the Middle East sharply following sanctions on Iran. However, it has to seek further and deeper cooperation with emerging economies like China to help breathe life into the ailing eurozone.

The EU's concerns hint at its distrust of the US. Europe blames the US passing on to it the financial turmoil that has brought about the eurozone debt crisis. The US counters by saying Europe's failure to solve its debt crisis can be put down to a lack of leadership. However, the US is not going to press a hard line in Europe. The US sees Europe as neither part of a problem nor part of a solution. With all the world's attention, opportunities and challenges turning to Asia, a trans-Pacific partnership rather than a trans-Atlantic one weighs more on US foreign policy.

To retrieve the situation, the EU is eager to show its desire to cooperate with the US and devote more energy to the Asia-Pacific region. That gets short shrift from the Americans. The more Europe steps into the region, the more the US feels that its dominance is threatened.

One field in which the US would like to cooperate with the EU is the global commerce, for example, by introducing a code of conduct on the South China Sea. But the EU has barely any interest in this issue because it may threaten the EU's own framework for global governance.

Until 2050 about 90 percent of Europe's economic growth will be driven by foreign trade. As a result, a free-trade agreement will be a central focus of EU diplomatic strategy. After having concluded an agreement with South Korea last year, the EU will continue to promote free trade with other Asia-Pacific countries such as India and Singapore. It intends to strengthen strategic partnership with the new emerging economies through free-trade agreements. The EU understands only too well that it has to play all its comparative advantages so it is not left in the cold by the global shift to Asia.

The US return to Asia leaves Europe vulnerable. The US is heavy handed in everything concerning its strategic benefits, and that leaves no room for the EU. In turn, the EU has a history of saying one thing but doing another, so it is hard for it to promote multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific region.

The EU has gone too far on multilateralism, and the US has kept making trouble and enemies for itself. What stands out in the global shift to Asia is not the fact that the EU has been marginalized by the world but that the EU lacks a long-term diplomatic strategy. It has used all its energy in post-modernization and Europeanization, vaunting itself as a model for the world. Meanwhile, the world simply walks in the opposite direction. What that means is that the more the EU "advances", the more out of touch with the rest of the world it will become.

The author is director of China-Europe Academic Network. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.