On the world ｜ sanctions against Russia impact European economy and deepen differences between Europe and the United States

　　Since June, there have been strikes in France, Germany and Belgium, and the British railway has suffered the largest strike in 30 years. What happened to the European economy? Cui Hongjian, director of the European Institute of China Institute of International Studies, believes that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in the United States has promoted sanctions against Russia, and the rise in energy prices has led to stagflation in the European economy, making it more difficult to move toward economic recovery.

　　Xinhuanet invitedCui Hongjian, Director of the European Institute of China Institute of International StudiesRead it for you!

　　Xinhuanet: What’s wrong with the European economy? What is the reason?

　　Cui Hongjian:Recently, the economies of European and American countries have been hit hard. On the one hand, there is high inflation, that is, the price level continues to rise, on the other hand, there is a serious shortage of consumption, and construction has declined. The emergence of this situation has been caused by the economic structural problems of European countries for quite a long time, such as the lack of vitality in the labor market and the high social welfare expenditure. At the same time, in the short term, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has had an impact on the European economy from both demand and supply.

　　On the supply side, due to the western energy sanctions against Russia, the energy gap in Europe is getting bigger and bigger, and the energy cost is rising rapidly. On the demand side, due to rising prices, energy has concentrated on crowding out capital expenditures in many other fields, so now European people are more and more uncertain and insecure about consumption, and everyone is afraid to spend money. These have led to the current European economy falling into a very big dilemma.

　　Xinhuanet: The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, and the United States and the West are waving sanctions against Russia. What impact does this have on the European economy?

　　Cui Hongjian:Since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States has been trying to bring the pace of Europe. In addition to providing support to Ukraine, another key point is to drive European countries to launch multiple rounds of sanctions against Russia. With the escalation of sanctions, the United States, which is less dependent on Russia for energy and trade, has suffered less damage, but European countries have formed a very close interdependent relationship with Russia in industry and energy. In fact, the United States did not consider the losses of the so-called allies, but also intensified its efforts to continue to promote sanctions against Russia.

　　Since the fifth round of EU sanctions against Russia, the effect of sanctions is not obvious, and it has also played a counterproductive role. The EU is now soberly aware that blindly pushing up sanctions against Russia with the United States will bring more losses to the EU itself. Europe is not only tired of sanctions against Russia, but also tired of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, there are more and more dissatisfaction with blindly following up American policies.

　　If the United States continues to step up sanctions and pressure on Russia, I think the contradiction between the so-called alliance system between the United States and Europe will become more and more serious. Because the interests of both sides, especially the goal of diplomatic security, have great differences and contradictions at the root.

　　Xinhuanet: How can Europe overcome the current difficulties and achieve economic recovery?

　　Cui Hongjian:If Europe really wants a sustained economic recovery, it may still need to better promote international cooperation. When it comes to international cooperation, there is no doubt that the best choice for Europe now is emerging economies and a broader market, including China.

　　The economic dependence between Europe and America is very high, and the two sides have close cooperation in trade, industry and investment. This will lead to a vicious circle. Inflation and economic stagnation will spread back and forth between European and American economies, but it will make the European economy face greater difficulties.

　　However, emerging economies have maintained a relatively good growth trend so far. China and Europe should not only work together to persuade peace and promote talks, but also help both sides of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict return to the direction of peaceful settlement of disputes. At the same time, they should further strengthen pragmatic cooperation in supply chain and industrial chain security, which will not only continue to consolidate in traditional fields, but also further spread to green transformation, high technology and other fields. I think only in this way can Europe not only reform itself, but also get out of the current economic predicament through cooperation with China and other real partners.