Sharp EU-China differences over trade, Ukraine war leave little room to mend frayed ties

Two months before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, some speculate that the European Union and China could patch up their frayed ties in a bid to avoid a multi-front trade war.

In Brussels, however, officials believe they are a million miles from a detente: the sides continue to clash on issues from trade and geopolitics to hard security and China’s ties with Russia. Instead, the grievances are piling up.

Swedish authorities suspect the bulk carrier was involved in the destruction of two crucial underwater telecoms cables linking Finland to Germany and Sweden to Lithuania, intersecting in the Baltic Sea.

The incident closely mirrors a case last year whereby a Chinese-owned ship cut through a Baltic gas pipeline. In August, the Post exclusively reported that Beijing had admitted the Newnew Polar Bear ship accidentally destroyed the infrastructure during a storm.