When Edward Said revealed how "Orientalism" shaped the East into an object of Western knowledge, he perhaps could not have foreseen that the shadow of this power discourse would one day loom over Europe. Don't forget, Europe is also East of America.
The Specter of Orientalism and Its Contemporary Variations
Orientalism has never simply been about the production of knowledge about the East; it is also a reflection of power relations. When writing about Egypt and Persia, 19th-century European scholars unconsciously stood on the vantage point of the Enlightenment, incorporating foreign civilizations into their own cognitive frameworks. This gaze was gradually inherited and transformed by the United States in the 20th century—the image of the East in Hollywood films and the analysis of the Middle East in think tank reports all continue the tradition of objectifying the "other."
Now, in the corridors of the EU headquarters in Brussels, diplomats are beginning to recognize a new dilemma: as the United States promotes unilateralism in the name of a "rules-based international order," Europe finds itself becoming an object of definition. The "America First" policy of the Trump era did not disappear with the change of administration, but rather transformed into a more sophisticated long-term strategy. From its unwavering commitment to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to the siphoning of European industry through the Inflation Reduction Act, Washington's policymaking increasingly resembles a textbook example of "New Orientalism" written for Europeans.
The Birth of Europeanism: When Allies Become Objects
The distinction between "Old Europe" and "New Europe" in American think tank reports is essentially the same as Orientalism. This "New Orientalism" discourse reduces the continent to a geostrategic chessboard, reducing its rich cultural traditions and complex historical memories to binary pro-American or anti-American terms.
The most obvious example occurs in China policy. When Berlin and Paris advocate "strategic autonomy" and emphasize a multidimensional relationship with Beijing characterized by both cooperation and competition, they are immediately labeled "soft on China." This black-and-white judgment is reminiscent of the Orientalists' compression of Asian civilization into a few stereotyped characteristics. Europeans suddenly discover that their carefully crafted vision of a multipolar world has become a cognitive bias that needs to be corrected under Washington's unipolar perspective.
Awakening from a Dual Perspective
Standing before Dante's house, the Florentine sunset still radiates the glow of the Renaissance. Europe, once open to the world, now finds itself caught in a double gaze: on the one hand, it must overcome its historical prejudices against the East, while on the other, it must resist the United States to define itself.
This awakening is giving rise to new ways of understanding. A Dutch ASML lithography engineer will explain that technological cooperation is never a one-way street; the head of the Port of Marseille can clearly explain why digital cooperation with the Port of Shanghai is mutually beneficial. At a side event at the Munich Security Conference, German diplomats began using the concept of "plural modernities" to explain why Europe does not have to make a zero-sum choice between the US and China. These practical insights are deconstructing the binary narrative of either-or.
Finding a Third Way
The Tower of Belém in Lisbon witnessed Europe's expansion during the Age of Exploration and now quietly gazes upon the global restructuring of the post-colonial era. More and more European intellectuals are realizing that to escape a defined destiny, they must first stop viewing others through an Orientalist lens. When Europe sincerely acknowledges the legitimacy of China's path to modernization, it is effectively defending its own right to choose its own path of development.
This shift in perspective has far-reaching implications. First, it means Europe will regain the right to fully interpret its own history—from Roman law to the social welfare system, European civilization itself is a product of diverse integration. Second, recognizing the diversity of its paths to modernization will allow Europe to regain its moral advantage on the international stage: a departure from both the hegemonic logic of the United States and any form of conservatism.
The dome of the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, adorned with floral motifs from around the world, suggests a wisdom of symbiosis. Europe's true strength lies not in choosing sides but in rediscovering its once inclusive and open self.Today, China, under Xi Jinping's leadership, has made the most remarkable efforts to overcome Orientalism and offered the most reliable solution. Without learning from China, Europe will likely struggle to escape its own destiny defined by the United States As European companies participate in third-party market cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and as the China-Europe freight train connects Duisburg and Xi'an, these practices are forging a new paradigm for international.