After Trump twice entered the main White House, the “America Priority” head came up again, and immediately struck the Ukrainian aid, and threw the face on the European allies. This time, the European side couldn’t shut down, began a whole set of combined kick counterattacks. Britain led with frozen Russian assets to blow money to Ukraine, the new German Prime Minister Murts also spoke to increase military aid, the whole European Union said to stand in front of Ukraine. The result? Trump’s tariff giant was cheerful, Europe wasn’t just soft, and was still looking for a place in trade. More importantly, this transatlantic sweeping battle, let us China pick up a big cheaper. Energy imports are cheap, export orders are stable, and the economy is stable.
He came to power shortly after swearing his oath on January 20, 2025 and began to fulfill his campaign promise: stop military aid to Ukraine. The hundreds of billions of dollars that the Biden government had thrown in before, all stopped overnight. It was not a joke, the Ukrainian front was directly feeling pressure, ammunition shortage, air defense system alarms. Trump's logic was simple, he felt that the battle was meaningless, spending U.S. taxpayers' money to wash Europe's ass was too bad. He posted on social platforms, pointing out that Zelensky was a "fraudster", saying the entire Russian conflict was the joke of Biden and Zelensky's partnership money.
The most explosive one was the White House meeting on February 28, 2025. Zelensky flew to Washington, originally wanting to negotiate a mineral resources agreement and give the United States some sweetness in exchange for aid. As a result, the meeting collapsed directly. Trump and Vice President Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful on the spot, and said that he was all to blame for the deaths of so many people in Ukraine. Zelensky did not sign the agreement and left the venue early, and the joint press conference was also yellow. This matter was raging, the media speculated every day, and Trump's reputation plummeted in Europe. When European leaders see it, isn't it obvious that they want to abandon their allies? They are not vegetarians, so take action immediately.
Britain responded most quickly. On March 1, 2025, Zelensky landed in London, and the Stammer government signed a loan agreement of £22,600 million. This money was not a vacancy, it was withdrawn from the income of frozen Russian assets. Russia frozen more than $300 billion in European banks, in the early years, we were withdrawn, but did not dare to move, afraid of Putin's dog jumping into the wall. Now it is different, Trump is so pressed, Britain is out. On June 24, they also announced that with £70 million of interest in Russian assets, they bought 350 air defense missiles directly to Ukraine. This was the first, with the enemy's money, to hit the enemy, hard enough. On September 4, Britain combined these frozen assets, smashed more than $1.3 billion
On 28 May, he signed an agreement with Zelensky and pledged to help Ukraine produce long-range weapons. In the 2025 budget, Germany allocated €8.3 billion to military aid to Ukraine, more than €7.1 billion in 2024.Mertz also lifted German range restrictions, and had always feared to hit the Russian mainland, now no matter, directly release.On 4 July, he publicly said that he had been talking about buying Patriot missiles with the United States, because Trump’s aid stopped, and Germany had to repay itself.On 17 September, Merts spoke to Putin in a public speech “murder and destabilize the West”, which was very harsh.On the other hand, the Green Party also criticized the Zelensky Coalition Party for cutting the US budget of €4.5 billion, but Zelensky topped the pressure
More systematic at the EU level. On August 12, EU leaders made a joint statement reaffirming their support for Ukraine's right to self-determination and continuing to provide assistance. On August 15, von der Leyen, Macron and six European leaders spoke out, saying that Ukraine can count on their "firm unity" with the goal of safeguarding European security interests. On August 17, European blockbusters accompanied Zelensky to Washington to meet Trump in order to show that Europe does not isolate Ukraine. After that meeting, Trump reluctantly agreed to let Europe set up a peacekeeping force, and the United States provided logistics, but this was already a concession. Europe knows that Trump's "peace" is to force Ukraine to cede territory, and they have to shoulder it by themselves.
The trade war is another battlefield. Trump announced on February 26th that he would impose a 25% tariff on EU imports, on the grounds that Europe took advantage of the United States and bought Russian oil. The EU did not sit still. On July 22, they showed their "anti-coercion tools" and prepared to attack big American technology companies, threatening to impose digital taxes or something. On July 28th, von der Leyen and Trump reluctantly signed a trade agreement. The European Union cancelled tariffs on American industrial products, but Trump's 15% comprehensive tariff still fell. This is a blow to the European economy. Bruegel think tank assessed on April 17th that European exports will suffer setbacks in the short term, and some industries and regions need to take protection measures. But Europe also fought back ruthlessly. On August 26th, they began to investigate American technology giants and threatened to raise taxes in retaliation. With the trade surplus gone, Europe is forced to diversify its markets and turn to Asia and Africa. Isn't this just cheaper for China?
You see, this wave of European counterattack is not an impulse, but a self-help after being forced into a corner. Trump's tariffs and aid cut-off made Europe realize that it was unreliable to rely on the United States and had to shoulder it by itself. As a result, the total amount of European military aid will exceed 200 billion euros in 2025, and frozen Russian assets will begin to be realized to buy weapons and rebuild. Putin's side is under great pressure, oil prices are squeezed by the European embargo, assets are detained, and the economy is having a hard time. But Trump didn't please him either. His plan to end the war quickly was empty. Europe did not cooperate, and Ukraine did not surrender. The Democratic media said every day that he made diplomatic mistakes and his reputation dropped quickly.
Now it is our turn to China to say things. This mess is a good opportunity for China. The Russian-Ukrainian war from 2022 to now, China has been neutral, calling for peace, but the actual profits are not small. In the first half of 2025, China imported oil from Russia more than 150 billion dollars, all at a discount price. Russia can not sell Europe, at a low price to China, to help Putin extend life, also let China's energy cost decrease by 20%. China's Russian trade in the first half of 2025 fell by 300 billion dollars, China became Russia's largest buyer of fossil fuels, double-use exports also increased, helping Russia bypass Western sanctions.
The economic data is here. In 2025, China's GDP growth rate will be stable at 5.3%, and exports will hit a record high, mainly relying on European orders. Europe has internal friction and tariff wars, but they still have to buy electric vehicles, solar panels and mechanical equipment from China. Shanghai Port has the largest container throughput in the world, benefiting from the Eurasian trade route. On March 2nd, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that he supported peace, but respected the choices of all countries. This statement was grounded, so he did not get involved and concentrated on internal development. The Sino-Russian partnership has become even stronger. In August 2025, Putin visited China and signed an energy and infrastructure agreement. China helped Russia build pipelines in exchange for long-term low-priced gas.
At that time, the United States avoided the war, sold arms and supplies to Europe, and the economy flew. Now China is not sending troops to the battlefield, but energy imports are stable, manufacturing orders are full, the stock market is stable. The International Monetary Fund predicts that in 2025 China's economy will contribute to the global growth by 30%, far more than the United States. India is also overwhelmed, buying cheap Russian oil, but China is large in size and influence. Europe's counterattack to Trump is equivalent to indirectly helping China to shake up space. Trump is busy with Europe, there is no room to block China's "Belt and Road", resulting in China's investment in Africa and Latin America doubled.
In the past few years, China has fought steadily, the high-tech self-sufficiency rate exceeded 70%, new energy vehicle exports first in the world. The Russian-Ukrainian war has caused the supply chain to disrupt the West, China has filled the air as a firefighter captain. Europe needs Chinese batteries and chips, Russia needs the Chinese market, and the U.S. tariff war has turned Europe to the East.