China is also forming an increasingly close relationship with Central and East European countries－those that are nearest to it on the Eurasian land mass, and also a key link for the Belt and Road Initiative.

Addressing the China Central and Eastern European Countries Summit last month, President Xi said China would aim to import $170 billion of goods from CEE countries over the next five years. Since the formation of the cooperative organization nine years ago, China-CEE trade has grown by 85 percent.

"With its focus on real results, China-CEEC cooperation has served the purpose of supporting our respective development and bettering the lives of our people," Xi told the summit.

Ross feels that Europe as a whole is taking a different position to China than the UK.

"Britain, after Brexit, has moved further to subordinate itself to the US－banning Chinese company Huawei from its 5G system and embarking on provocative measures such as announcing it will send an aircraft carrier to the Pacific," he said.

"But, of course, the EU is a much more significant economic and political force than Britain, so overall it may be said that the EU and Europe are refusing to go along with a new Cold War against China."

He, the former trade diplomat, said Europe wants good relations with China and has no interest in perpetuating US global hegemony.

"The US wants to contain China to maintain its world hegemony. That, however, is the US' concern and not Europe's. A large part of Europe's economic future is dependent on Asia, with China very much the center of that. It would be stupid to sacrifice Europe's future just for the interests of the US," he said.

Parag Khanna, a global strategist and author of The Future is Asian, said China is a major opportunity for Europe, which it is not going to miss out on.

"The EU wants to take the lead on exports to China. It wants to gain access to asset management and other activities in China, and also gain a greater market share in Belt and Road-related projects," he said.

Khanna said that despite some of the political rhetoric from Washington, US companies want to do the same, with a number of leading Wall Street names establishing major operations in Shanghai over the past year.

"In this sense, Europe competes directly with the US. Geopolitical allies can be geoeconomic competitors," he added.

Xi made clear in his address to the WEF the importance of prioritizing the Global South's development needs.

"Today, inequality continues to grow, the North-South gap remains to be bridged, and sustainable development faces severe challenges. As countries grapple with the pandemic, their economic recoveries are following divergent trajectories, and the North-South gap risks further widening and even perpetuation," he said.