Beijing-Brussels cooperation needed more than ever before

Introducing her new College of Commissioners on Wednesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vowed to work harder to close the innovation gap between the European Union, and the United States and China, to realize the landmark Green Deal and to better safeguard the EU's economic security, including its defense industries.

The daunting tasks she laid out are largely based on a future EU competitiveness report drafted by former Italian prime minister and former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi.

However, the real talk in Brussels these days is not on the Economic Commission president's priorities but on the growing uncertainties over the incoming US administration led by Donald Trump. There is great anxiety over the possibility of Trump launching trade and tariff wars against not only China but also the EU given his contempt for the bloc. Trump's unilateral policies and his withdrawal of the US side from international treaties such as the Paris Agreement still haunt many Europeans. The worst-case scenario for many EU leaders is Trump cutting a deal with Russia over the Ukraine crisis without consulting Brussels.