President Donald Trump has frequently brought up the specter of China in his threats to annex Greenland away from the Kingdom of Denmark, saying that if the United States does not secure the island, it could be used strategically by the Chinese Communist Party.
But in a twist of irony, China itself was hoping to use Trump’s obsession with Greenland to weaken the NATO alliance and bring itself closer to Europe, according to diplomatic cables obtained by Politico.
“A cable from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Jan. 21 suggests the Chinese government is eager to benefit from Trump’s moves against Greenland. The situation ‘offers China an opportunity to benefit from European hedging’ and could “’amplify trans-Atlantic frictions,’ U.S. diplomats wrote in laying out the thinking in China,” said the report. “But the cable, which cites media and analysts affiliated with the ruling Chinese Communist Party, also notes that Chinese leadership was aware that a larger U.S. military footprint in Greenland could complicate their goals in the Arctic and ‘consolidate U.S. military and infrastructure advantages.’”
A number of other diplomatic cables further underscored the stress the Greenland sideshow put on European countries, with many leaders enraged but also fearful that too strong a rebuke of Trump would cause critical military partnerships to fall apart.
Both Denmark and the Greenlandic government have closed the door on the U.S. acquiring Greenland; nonetheless, the military, through the NATO alliance, has enjoyed access to the island for strategic purposes for decades.
Earlier this month, Trump seemingly de-escalated from a stance of threatening to send troops to Greenland, saying that he had reached the “framework of a future deal” to determine Greenland’s status.
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