Pedestrians in the Huangpu district of Shanghai: Europe's economic ties with China are much deeper than with Russia – it has been Germany’s biggest trade partner since 2016. There remain deep divergences on the issue between EU member states, ranging from friendly Hungary to hawkish Lithuania. Photograph: Hector RETAMAL/AFP The shortcomings of “the West” as a term, the rough shorthand used to mean the United States and its allies particularly in northwestern Europe, became apparent following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The need for a way to refer to the broad alliance of countries that united in imposing sanctions on Russia…