The European Union and China held trade talks on July 28 as the EU seeks to “work hand in hand” with China to recover economically from the pandemic, according to a top European Union official involved in the talks.

The EU and China have been working together on an investment deal for the last decade and aim to have it completed by the end of the year. A stepping-stone to this much larger deal was authorized by the European Council last week. In the minor but important deal, both sides agreed to protect each other’s “geographical indicators.” This means that products with certain qualities unique to their production origin cannot be produced elsewhere and sold as a “kind,” “type,” “style” or “imitation.” It covers 100 products from each side, such as Champagne from Champagne, France; feta from Greece; and Prosecco from Veneto, Italy. The deal still needs approval by the European Parliament; however, this is considered mostly a formality by this point.

While this is very much a minor deal right now, Geopolitical Futures pointed out that it lays “the groundwork for a broader trade agreement with China. [F]or the EU, reaching an agreement on geographical indications is a sign that it may be closer to signing a larger trade deal with China than with the United States. After all, Washington and Brussels failed to reach a similar agreement during talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.”

During United States President Barack Obama’s time in office, the EU was negotiating a deal with the U.S. However, this is now essentially nonexistent. The EU has become much closer to China than the U.S. economically and in trade.

While increasing cooperation with China, the EU remains somewhat cautious in its approach. It wants to ensure that its companies are allowed to operate under the same principles as Chinese companies in China and has said it will limit exporting certain technology that could be used for surveillance in Hong Kong.

Over the past decade, EU exports to China have more than doubled, making China the second-largest export destination from the EU after the U.S. in 2019. The heart of Europe, Germany, is the world’s fourth-largest economy and the largest in Europe. It is also China’s largest European trading partner—accounting for one third of total EU trade—followed by the Netherlands and France, which together account for more than half of total EU trade.

The last few months have unmasked China as never before. Not only has China released a pandemic on the world, but major human rights abuses have come to light such as the Uyghur concentration camps, Uyghur genocide through birth control, and the new National Security Law that stripped Hong Kong of the majority of its freedoms overnight. So why is the EU forging ahead with increased cooperation with China now, when the majority of other nations are backing away? We find the answer in Bible prophecy.

Isaiah 23 discusses the “mart of nations” (verse 3)—a prophesied economic alliance including the German-led European Union and China. Verse 1 reads, “The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.”

Regarding this verse, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes in Isaiah’s End-Time Vision, Tyre refers to “the commercial center of this European power.” Chittim, he continues, “gave birth to the land of Chaldee, or southern China.”

In a 2017 article, theTrumpet.com managing editor Brad Macdonald wrote:

In this prophecy, the end-time Tyre is shown to be in a trade relationship with China and other Asian peoples. The mention of the sea (verses 2, 4, 11), oceans (“great waters,” verse 3), ships (verses 1 and 14), and seaborne merchant traffic (verse 8) indicates this is a trade alliance. Verse 3 calls this a “mart of nations.” Mart means emporium, trade or merchandise. Verse 13 mentions Italy (Chaldea). Italy is here depicted in association with Germany, whose biblical identity is Assyria, or Asshur.

Clearly, this is a prophecy about an end-time trade axis between Europe and Asia!

Mr. Macdonald also pointed out that this alliance notably does not include Britain and America. This reveals the purpose of the alliance.

In his booklet, Mr. Flurry says this alliance is “a dynamic market of nations” working “to besiege America, Britain and the Jewish nation.” Mr. Macdonald described it as a “rival” that “exists to compete with America and Britain.”

The outline to this mart of nations is emerging before our eyes and it is more vivid than ever. Stumbling blocks may emerge along the road ahead, but Europe has already shown that it is firmly resolved to create a strong trade alliance with China. For more on this alliance, read “Trade Wars Have Begun.”