The “Iron Curtain” would “fall again not only from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, but also to the final confrontation between the Western-dominated camp and its competitors,” he wrote. “If China does not take proactive measures to respond, it will encounter further containment from the U.S. and the West.”
That’s already happening. In a recent speech, Mr. Xi criticized Western countries for their “all-around containment, encirclement and suppression of China” led by the United States. He said that it “has brought unprecedented severe challenges to our country’s development.”
China is experiencing sharp drops in both export and foreign direct investment, as many multinational companies move some or all of their supply chains out of China. The country’s economic policy has become much more unpredictable under Mr. Xi, especially during the “zero Covid” lockdowns last year. And the combination of American trade tariffs and export controls has made navigating China tricky for multinational businesses.
The Biden administration has been trying to persuade others to coordinate on its China policies, especially in blocking access to advanced technologies. U.S. allies, including Japan and the Netherlands, have pledged not to sell their most advanced semiconductor machinery to China. The United Kingdom, after wavering for a while on the infrastructure backbone of its 5G build out, decided against buying equipment from Huawei.
“The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have reinforced the negative perception of China within the European Union,” a group of Chinese researchers wrote in a report. “China’s image in Europe is implicated by its association with Russia.”

This data comes from MediaIntel.Asia's Media Intelligence and Media Monitoring Platform.