Dr Steven Blockmans, Director of the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels, analyzes the EU's new take on trade, asking how the concept of open strategic autonomy should be understood, which policy areas are most likely to be affected by it, what obstacles may prevent achieving it, and what are the implications for transatlantic relations and for the future of EU-China relations. The paper illustrates how the EU with its strong mandate in trade policy is already involved into world politics and big power competition and how it is defining its role and interests within a rapidly changing geopolitical and geoeconomic environment.