Xi Jinping had a sumptuous welcome when his official visit to Italy in 2019. This included exclusive tours of Rome’s monuments and a dinner with opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The pièce de résistance was Italy’s announcement that it will join Xi’s flagship Belt and Road infrastructure project.
The Chinese leader returned to Europe five years later to find a completely different environment. On Sunday, Xi arrived in France. Although he will be on a six-day tour of Europe, opinions on China on the continent have drastically changed since his previous visit. In the past weeks alone, the European Union has launched trade probes into China’s wind turbines and procurement of medical equipment, and raided offices of Chinese security equipment maker Nuctech as part of an investigation into subsidies. Germany and the United Kingdom in recent days also arrested or charged at least six people for alleged espionage and related crimes linked to China.
And in March, Italy formally exited the Belt and Road, costing the program its only G7 member country, in a blow to China and its leader.Behind these developments are mounting economic grievances that have the EU preparing for a potential major trade confrontation with China — as well as growing suspicions about Beijing’s global ambitions and influence, driven by alarm over China’s deepening ties with Russia as it wages war against Ukraine.
“China is seen increasingly as a multi-faceted threat in many European capitals. But there are divisions within Europe over how fast and far to go in addressing concerns about China, both in the economic and security spheres,” said Noah Barkin, a Berlin-based visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.Now, Xi’s trip — with stops in France, Serbia and Hungary — is an opportunity to woo his critics, but also showcase that even as views are hardening in some parts of Europe, others still welcome China with open arms.
Beijing is keen to dampen Europe’s push to address alleged trade distortions, which would come at a bad time for China’s flagging economy. It also wants to ensure Europe doesn’t draw any closer to the United States, especially amid uncertainty over the outcome of the upcoming US election. Major breakthroughs with China’s toughest critics will be hard to come by unless Xi is ready to make surprise concessions. And the trip could instead serve to underscore divisions — not only between Europe and China but those within Europe that could play to China’s favor, analysts say.The Chinese leader met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen alongside French President Emmanuel Macron Monday.
Von der Leyen has spearheaded the EU’s rallying cry to “derisk” its supply chains from China over concerns about securing key technologies, and is driving a high-stakes anti-subsidy investigation, backed by France, into the influx of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) imports to Europe.China earlier this year opened an investigation into the price of brandy imported from the EU in a move that could hit France’s cognac sector and is widely seen as retaliation for the probe.
During a joint press conference in Paris Monday, Macron said Europe was not looking to stir up trouble with its trade policy, but simply trying to stay sovereign. He also thanked Xi for keeping an open mind on the issue of French cognac. The two countries would continue their trade discussions, Macron said.“China’s direct investment in France is three times lower than that of France in China. We need to rebalance this,” Macron added. “In sectors like electric vehicles, batteries as well as most cutting-edge technologies, digital platforms etc, I would like to see us (the Franco-Chinese cooperation) go a lot further.”
As for Xi, he called for closer relations between the two nations in fields including agriculture, finance, aerospace, nuclear power, and cultural exchanges. to Xi, China and France signed a total of 18 interdepartmental cooperation agreements during the visit.
Source: Here
