A Europe That Can Still Say No?

China’s potential involvement in the eurozone crisis has triggered a wave of speculation about the political, economic, and strategic implications of China “buying up” or “bailing out” Europe. Prime ministers from Greece to Hungary have been touting Chinese bond purchases as votes of confidence in their countries’ finances for well over a year. Yet the reality has so far been less dramatic. China did not swing in behind the European Financial Stability Facility. On the EU’s part, there has been no sign of major concessions being offered to China in the hope that this will smooth the way for Chinese cash. The broader state of EU-China relations will depend significantly on how China and the EU deal with each other through a period that is not just an economic crisis for Europe but an existential one.