Signal Japan, the EU and Taiwan adopt distinct strategies toward the US-China rivalry

Summary

Japan is pursuing a very clear strategy of strengthening the US-Japan alliance, reinforcing economic security and moving toward becoming a normal state, using US containment of China as an opportunity to build up its own military. The EU has adopted a pragmatic balancing strategy that avoids excessive dependence on either power, grounded in the open strategic autonomy concept of its February 2021 trade strategy. Inside the bloc it is strengthening resilience in supply chains, critical infrastructure, cyber and key technologies, while externally it is signing diverse economic agreements with Indo-Pacific partners. Taiwan leverages its semiconductor technology and supply-chain lead, with President Lai Ching-te proposing a global democratic semiconductor supply-chain partnership in February 2025. Taiwan also joins US chip export controls and, through TSMC, expands production in friendly countries, while Taipei and Beijing have placed each other's firms on dual-use export lists.