Europe would be foolish to capitulate to US demands to pull away from China

US president Donald Trump's administration is insisting that the European Union must choose between the United States and China on trade, according to recent reports in The Irish Times. His threat appears to be that any country that wants a trade deal with the US must distance itself from Beijing. This tactic of intimidation is typical of Trump's manifestly misguided belief that, both domestically and internationally, he "holds all the cards". The EU is a major player in international trade and, notwithstanding the immense challenges it faces, it is well capable of taking its own decisions about relations with each…