Will Europe Punish China If Xi Crushes Hong Kong?

Military vehicles are parked on the grounds of the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Shenzhen, China August 15, 2019. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Epoch Times: Will Europe Punish China If Xi Crushes Hong Kong?

Does China fear Europe’s backlash over Hong Kong more than it does U.S. tariffs?

President Trump’s decision to link U.S. tariff negotiations to China’s handling of the ongoing Hong Kong protests seems like a smart move. It amply demonstrates the importance of Hong Kong in the eyes of America and other Western democracies. It would also seem to give Chinese leader Xi Jinping even less room to maneuver, and may add leverage to the U.S. negotiating position.

Furthermore, Trump’s offer to meet with the Chinese leader face-to-face to resolve the Hong Kong crisis peacefully focuses the world’s attention on Xi, rather than Trump, as the source of potential violence and intolerance. But these advantages may not have the impact that Trump hopes they will. There are a couple of possible reasons for this.

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WNU Editor: There will be a European backlash against China if they should decide to use force to crush the protest movement in Hong Kong. And this backlash would be both political and economic. It is also probably one of the reasons why Chinese President Xi has not ordered the military to move into Hong Kong to put an end to these protests. The cost (right now) would be too high.