Editor's note: Anthony Moretti, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is an associate professor at the Department of Communication and Organizational Leadership at Robert Morris University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Citizens of multiple European countries have made it clear that they do not want their nations aligning with the U.S. in any potential future war with China.

To be specific, 62 percent of all surveyed Europeans told the European Council on Foreign Relations that they expect their leaders to "remain neutral" should any such conflict erupt. And only 23 percent expressly stated that their nations should automatically back the U.S.

Residents of 11 countries took part in the survey. Austrians (80 percent) and Bulgarians (79 percent) were the most adamant about staying out of any war. Swedes, at 49 percent, were the only citizens that did not hold the majority opinion about neutrality.

Granted, this is one poll, and no political leader must agree with what their citizens say they want. On the other hand, the survey affirms that Europeans understand what has happened to their continent because of the support given to the U.S. in the disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although Americans are more likely to ask questions such as "what did those trillions of dollars spent on the wars bring us?" Europeans, too, have seen the negative effects of two decades of Western-supported military overreach. As just one example, the continent has become ripe for conversations about what to do with refugees who have fled ongoing strife in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of Africa. 

In other words, the survey data ought not to be surprising: Europeans continue to hear and respond to China's multi-pronged messages about not seeking hegemony around the world and desiring to bolster economic opportunities, no strings attached, to all areas of the globe.

The recent visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to China demonstrated that he wants Europe to continue viewing China as a partner. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz provided another example of this thinking when he approved a Chinese company buying a minority stake in Hamburg's port. Scholz ignored fierce criticism at home in backing the arrangement, demonstrating that he is willing to put into practice the words he wrote in an essay earlier this year in the influential magazine Foreign Affairs: "During the post–Cold War phase of globalization, China also became a global player, as it had been in earlier long periods of world history. China's rise does not warrant isolating Beijing or curbing cooperation."

President Macron believes "European sovereignty" and "strategic autonomy" must be at the forefront of European thinking. And part of that means not acquiescing to America's insatiable lust for war. He noted with skepticism what is taking place in the South China Sea: "The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda ..."

The U.S. agenda is clear: Demonize China on the domestic and global stage by claiming that China seeks to undermine the Western-created and U.S.-dominated world order. But we must acknowledge that it has created a philosophy in which the U.S. believes it can – and must – establish puppet regimes, denounce as inhumane any governmental structure it does not like, and require the developing world to support political or economic strategies that have no history of success in those places.

America has already taken a step back from its activities in the Middle East, and China has swept in and quickly brokered deals that successive U.S. presidents could not make. The easing of tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia is the most notable, and it includes Iran re-establishing its embassy in Riyadh.

With this success as a backdrop, it is understandable why President Joe Biden and leaders of both major U.S. political parties view with intense disgust any European leader who dares to hint at China being a reliable partner for the continent. America lacks credibility in significant Middle Eastern capitals and throughout those societies; if a similar absence of credibility begins to develop in Europe, America's hegemony will take on more cracks.

A final thought about the survey discussed at the beginning of this editorial. The authors offered an important reminder for Europe's heads of state: "On average, 60 percent of respondents think their government is not listening to them enough when making foreign policy decisions. If European leaders want the public on board, they will need to demonstrate that they are taking their citizens' voices seriously."

Those voices believe that following the U.S. into any war with China is not in Europe's interest.

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