Xi aims to drive wedge between US and Europe

Chinese President Xi Jinping, preparing to visit France, Serbia, and Hungary, will try to disrupt the relationship between the US and Europe

Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to the European Union for the first time in five years with a clear message: Beijing offers much more of an economic opportunity for the bloc than the US wants to admit.

Despite repeated investigations by the E.U. into Beijing’s industrial policy and warnings from officials in Washington about risks, some European states are still seeking investment from China.

According to sources familiar with the plans, President Emmanuel Macron aims to deepen his bond with Xi during the two-day visit to France, while calling on the Chinese leader to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Macron’s diplomatic adviser on Saturday that he hopes Paris can push the E.U. to pursue a pragmatic policy toward Beijing.

Xi’s trip comes as the E.U. is steadily forging a more unified voice with Washington in opposing China’s capacity for cheap exports and perceived national security risks. After years serving as a buffer between the world’s superpowers, distrust in Brussels is growing: Germany this month arrested four alleged Chinese spies, the latest in a spate of such cases, while E.U. diplomats are reportedly mulling more curbs on Chinese companies for their support of Russia’s war machine.

Duncan Freeman, who teaches China-Europe relations at the Brussels School of Governance, said in a statement before Xi’s trip, “This is part of an effort to convince Europeans that there are better options and better relationships.”

Xi is visiting nations “where selling the dislike for the U.S.-led global security architecture is easier,” said Una Aleksandra Berzina-Cerenkova, director of the China Studies Centre at Riga Stradins University. Scooping up endorsements in friendly nations will help Beijing send the message that “Europe is on China’s side, no matter what Brussels says,” she added.

Source: Newsroom