China overtakes US…

Rahman Hashmi

Karachi

This is apropos a Business Recorder news item “China overtakes US as EU’s biggest trading partner” carried by the newspaper yesterday. According to it, China last year overtook the United States as the EU’s biggest trading partner.

This development underscores the need for highlighting the fact that it was China that enlarged its direct investments in Europe which was badly hit by the 2008 financial crisis. China played a highly important role in lessening the adverse impacts of that crisis on the economies of this continent. China’s step helped it increase the international use of its currency in Europe in years subsequent to 2008. It was a win-win proposition for Europe and China. Europe has clearly fallen for China.