With everything going on regarding COVID-19, and now the protests and riots in the US, it’s easy to forget that just a few months ago, there were on-going protests in Hong Kong around Beijing’s attempt to pass a law allowing people to be extradited to the mainland. Equally seemingly lost in the noise is Beijing’s current effort — passing a national security law for Hong Kong. This has prompted the US to propose revoking Hong Kong’s special trade status. On the one hand, this is almost certainly (from the US side) a bargaining chip in the on-going trade negotiations with China. But on the other hand, China may well continue down this path, regardless of the US decision — and that will have dramatic impact on the state of global trade. It’s entirely possible that China will not back down, and if it doesn’t back down, it’s equally possible that China will fall dramatically back from its looming, global leadership position. With the state of affairs in China and the US, there’s a big opportunity for Europe to step up here — the question is, will it?