But this does not guarantee that Trump will stand by Europe on Ukraine, or that Washington has any intention of exerting meaningful economic pressure on Beijing. Europe cannot push China to turn its back on Russia, nor expect it to stop trading with Russia. Just as Europeans now view their relationship with China through the lens of Russia, China sees Europe through the paradigm of its competition with the US. Beijing believes that if worst comes to worst in US-China relations, Europe would stand with Washington, notwithstanding Trump and the US’s abandonment and betrayal of Europe. And while Europe could potentially confront Russia without the US, it cannot do so while China is in its crosshairs too.