The EU’s foreign policy chief told a group of German envoys that the dawn of an Asian century would mean a diminished role for the US.
Josep Borrell created a diplomatic headache as Germany prepares to take over the presidency of the EU and of the UN Security Council in July.
“Analysts have long talked about the end of an American-led system and the arrival of an Asian century,” Mr Borrell told the ambassadors.
“This is now happening in front of our eyes.”
The former Spanish foreign minister said the EU needed to “follow our own interests and values and avoid being instrumentalised by one or the other”.
Mr Borrell said the “pressure to choose sides is growing”.
Shortly after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Brussels gave a warning about an information battle with Beijing and Moscow.
At the same time, European officials said that Brussels could no longer look to Washington for clear global leadership.
The US has hit out repeatedly at China over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, emphasising its support for traditional allies such as the EU.
Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Beijing posed a challenge to the world beyond the current pandemic.
Mr Borrell said US-China rivalry was “having a major, often paralysing effect on the multilateral system".
"In the UN Security Council, the G20, the WHO and elsewhere, there are many more disagreements and vetoes and fewer agreements," he said.
Mr Borrell said that while China’s fast rise on the global stage was impressive, there was a lack of trust, transparency and reciprocity between Beijing and Brussels.
“We only have a chance if we deal with China with collective discipline,” he said.
“We need a more robust strategy for China, which also requires better relations with the rest of democratic Asia.”
Speaking by video link Heiko Maas, Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, echoed Mr Borrell’s call for greater transparency from China.
Mr Borrell also said that moving into a new phase of shifting global power, the EU needed to evaluate its approach to Moscow.
“We also need a frank discussion on how to handle a Russia that feels emboldened to challenge important common European security interests,” he said.
“We need to have a selective engagement with Russia on the issues that matter to us.”
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Muguruza's singles career in stats
WTA titles 3
Prize money US$11,128,219 (Dh40,873,133.82)
Wins / losses 293 / 149
The%20Sandman
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE squad
Men's draw: Victor Scvortov and Khalifa Al Hosani, (both 73 kilograms), Sergiu Toma and Mihail Marchitan (90kg), Ivan Remarenco (100kg), Ahmed Al Naqbi (60kg), Musabah Al Shamsi and Ahmed Al Hosani (66kg)
Women’s draw: Maitha Al Neyadi (57kg)
The specs: 2019 Audi A8
Price From Dh390,000
Engine 3.0L V6 turbo
Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 345hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque 500Nm @ 1,370rpm
Fuel economy, combined 7.5L / 100km
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The%20specs
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Quick%20facts
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
