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My Take | If AI, geopolitics shift the ground beneath you, you’re in the right place

Revelations from Munich Security Conference show opportunities for Beijing, but expectations must be tempered

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A speech by US Vice-President J.D. Vance highlighted the rift in world views between the Trump administration and Europe. Photo: Reuters

The recent Munich Security Conference epitomised two important tectonic shifts: namely in transatlantic relations and artificial intelligence.

For transatlantic diplomacy, the most noteworthy development was, of course, a speech US Vice-President J.D. Vance delivered on Friday.

Instead of giving clues about the US position on solving the Ukraine crisis, Vance stunned the audience with a blistering attack on major European countries for departing from democracy, and for allowing an influx of immigrants.

The speech might sound ridiculous to many ears, but it highlighted the rift in world views between the Trump administration and Europe, as well as how Vance prioritised a domestic audience over the US’ traditional allies.

The conference has long been a platform for the US, Europe and Nato to discuss security issues, but the Trump administration appears to have little interest in involving Europe – or even Ukraine – in peace talks with Russia. Both were absent from the negotiations between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

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J.D. Vance says ‘threat vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China’

J.D. Vance says ‘threat vis-a-vis Europe is not Russia, it's not China’
Wang Yi, China’s foreign minister who attended the Munich Security Conference, said Beijing supported peace talks but that all stakeholders, including the European Union, should take part in the negotiations. This stance put Beijing in a favourable position.
Josephine Ma is China news editor and has covered China news for the Post for more than 20 years. As a correspondent in Beijing, she reported on everything from the 2003 Sars outbreak to the riots in Lhasa and the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She has been based in Hong Kong since 2009. She has a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree in English language from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
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