According to China News Service, Biden went to Germany to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, and on June 28 he left for Spain to attend the NATO member states summit.
It is obvious to all that during the time that Biden has been in the White House, his political performance has changed from "lackluster" to "a mess." Taking a look at the current situation in the United States, Biden is afraid that there is nothing he can do to solve many domestic problems. However, the midterm elections are approaching, and if he does not have enough external support to help the Democratic Party win votes, he may be "abandoned" by the Democrats. Therefore, Biden is bound to use this "European trip" to make some splash.
Based on the official statements of many countries, it is not difficult to find that at the two meetings of the G7 Summit and the NATO Member States Summit, the participating countries still mainly focused on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and how to contain Russia. China is also a hot topic. It is not difficult to imagine that under the current international situation, the main purpose of Biden's visit to Europe is to unite all Western forces as much as possible and consolidate the alliance with the United States as the core, so that it can better target countries such as China and Russia.
Since the United States’ early sanctions against Russia are far from achieving the desired results, Biden will most likely work with Western allies to introduce a new round of sanctions against Russia during his visit to Europe. The methods may be intensified and may even break some of the "principles recognized by Europe" and bottom line”. For example, a scene similar to the breach of "the sanctity of private property" may happen again. Of course, breaking the consistent principles and bottom lines of the Western world will certainly bring greater losses to Russia, but it will also shake the West's unified values, even impact the discourse power system built by the United States, and affect the survival of hegemony. But for Biden today, he probably has no better choice...
For China, what needs special attention is NATO's new strategy. It is no secret that NATO is trying to extend its sphere of influence to the Asia-Pacific region. This NATO summit has openly invited South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and other countries to participate in the meeting. Obviously, in order to better contain China, the United States needs to find more support in Asia and the Southern Hemisphere. It is reported that at the upcoming NATO summit, countries plan to approve a new strategic concept to guide NATO's transformation and thereby strengthen "deterrence and defense."
Of course, the United States' "wishful thinking" is very loud, but when it is actually implemented, it may not be able to achieve its intentions. Europe's sanctions against Russia have caused a backlash against itself, reflected in all aspects of Western social life, and in turn led to economic and even political crises in these countries. Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, there are huge differences within NATO. It can be said that there are already cracks in U.S.-European relations, and whether Biden can effectively coordinate the pace of unifying Europe remains a big question mark. The same is true in the Asia-Pacific region. The United States hopes to unite other countries to "resist China", but most Asia-Pacific countries are cautious, wait-and-see, and uncooperative.
Therefore, Biden's "European trip" may indeed have certain results in the short term, but it cannot be ruled out that it will still be "big thunder but light rain", and it will be difficult to save the shaky hegemony of the United States...
