The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, is, starting Sunday, on a five-day tour of Europe. The leader from Beijing will have official visits to France, Serbia and Hungary, he writes Deutsche Welle.
On Sunday, Xi Jinping arrived in France, and on Monday he will have an official meeting with his counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. According to a source from the French president’s office, the talks will be “very political”, and the stake is Macron’s attempt to influence Moscow through Xi Jinping in relation to the war in Ukraine.
According to Deutsche Welle, the French government source said that Macron will “encourage China, as one of Russia’s main partners, to use the leverage at its disposal to change Moscow’s calculations and contribute to resolving the conflict”.
Trade exchanges between the EU and China remain a critical point
During the visit to France, the Chinese leader will sign, among other things, new business deals, including reported plans for new Chinese orders with the French aeronautical giant Airbus.
Last year, the European Union opened an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, criticized by the leadership in Beijing as “empty protectionism”.
Isabelle Feng, a researcher at the Free French-speaking University of Brussels, told Deutsche Welle that trade between the EU and China is expected to decline “very, very slowly” amid these strained ties.
More friendly meetings in Serbia and Hungary
Xi Jinping’s tour will continue with official visits to Serbia and Hungary, where the leader’s welcome from Beijing is expected to be friendlier.
Serbia is an official candidate for EU membership, and although the European bloc is its main economic partner, Serbia received Chinese investments worth 11 billion dollars between 2009 and 2021, according to the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, quoted by Deutsche Welle.
Xi Jinping will end his trip to Europe in Hungary, the EU member that has been most often in conflict with Brussels. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the two states have “deepened mutual political trust” in recent years.
The visit to Europe, in a tense context
Xi Jinping’s tour in Europe is of significant importance, as it takes place in a tense geopolitical context, notes NBC News. China is pushing to avoid a trade war with the EU, while the West has repeatedly accused Beijing of supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine and of being behind several espionage actions.
According to Abigael Vasselier, director of external relations at Merics – a German think tank – the Chinese leader would focus on Lobby against the anti-subsidy evidence of the EU, especially regarding electric vehicles and the stabilization of bilateral relations.
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