Geopolitics and Economy: USA-Europe-China Debate in Gdańsk
War and peace, competition and cooperation, energy and space exploration, armaments and security are today’s challenges. Political scientists invited by the Employers of Pomerania discussed them. Over 300 representatives from business, science, and government attended the meeting organized by President Zbigniew Canowiecki and Tomasz Limon, director of Employers of Pomerania. The meeting took place in Gdańsk, on the 34th floor of the Olivia Center, on May 8, 2026.
Political scientists and politicians specializing in economic and defense issues were invited to the discussion on Geopolitics & Economy: USA-Europe-China. Dr. Małgorzata Bonikowska – political scientist, expert in geopolitics, and president of the Center for International Relations. Professor Bogdana Góralczyk – professor of social sciences, academic lecturer, and researcher at the University of Warsaw. Professor is a political scientist, Sinologist, Hungarianist, and diplomat. Janusz Reiter – diplomat, former Polish ambassador to Germany and the United States, founder of the Center for International Relations, one of the most respected Polish experts in geopolitics, strategy, and transatlantic relations. Jacek Siewiera – former head of the National Security Bureau, responsible for strategic advice in the areas of international policy and national security, among others. Maciej Witucki – Vice President of BusinessEurope and Chairman of the Main Council of the Lewiatan Confederation. Manager and economic activist. Candidate for the presidency of BusinessEurope in 2026 – an organization representing the interests of entrepreneurs at the European Union level.
The meeting was hosted and the discussion moderated by Agnieszka Lichnerowicz, a journalist and international analyst. Lichnerowicz works for Polish Radio Channel 3 and specializes in geopolitics and global economic trends.
Professor Góralczyk stated, among other things: “We are waking up from a geostrategic slumber following the collapse of the USSR. There is no end in sight to two wars: in Ukraine and in the Persian Gulf. We are witnessing the rebirth of empires. There is a renaissance of two civilizations: the Chinese and the Hindu. India is the fastest-growing economic entity in Asia. In India, the median age is 20, while here in the EU it is 43. Whatever happens to Russia, it will remain a major nuclear power, and we must reckon with that.”
“The European Union’s biggest problem is itself. We don’t understand this organization. The founding fathers of the European Union, the creators of the European Communities, when implementing the Europe project in the 1950s, had a vision of a federal state. Now the EU is neither woman nor fish – just like the Warsaw Mermaid,” said dr Małgorzata Bonikowska.
Maciej Witucki emphasized that “business needs, above all, to complete the construction of the common market.” “We should learn to draw on European cultures. Knowledge about European cultures should be imparted through the education system,” Jacek Siewiera postulated.
– The current policy of the United States, pursued by Donald Trump, which is trying to force regulations at the global level, the purpose of which is to increase revenues from customs duties, has turned out to be completely unsuccessful, because both China and the European Union have done a great job of transferring production to many countries with which we cooperate – said Prof. Marek Grzybowski, chairman of the Polish Nautological Society, president of the Baltic Sea and Space Cluster.
Stabilization between the economies of the European Union, China, and, of course, the United States is important. As you can see, politics isn’t increasing tensions between individual political regions. Logisticians are doing a great job, and thanks to this, economies are developing relatively stably.
Unfortunately, the war situation also means that some of the funds we could spend on consumption and social development are spent on armaments, said Professor Marek Grzybowski, as reported by Kazimierz Netka on the Pulsarowy.pl portal.
