Starting Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Hungary, and Serbia, his first trip to Europe in nearly five years. The visits, strung together over six days, come as the European Union targets what it sees as China’s unfair trade practices and excess capacity after years of being “played” by Beijing, according to the EU’s trade competition lead.
Xi may also be looking to buoy enthusiasm for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — Beijing’s sprawling infrastructure program — in Hungary and Serbia. Hungary was the first European country to sign a BRI co-operation agreement with China, while last year, Chinese state media hailed Serbia as “one of the most positive examples” of BRI collaboration.
China’s foreign ministry said the Europe trip would buttress “global peace and development,” while French President Emmanuel Macron’s office noted he and Xi would discuss “first and foremost the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East.”
Last month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that China’s 12-point peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war, proposed in 2023, represented the most reasonable plan presented yet. Last year, Beijing brokered the resumption of full-fledged diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, strengthening China’s diplomatic credentials.
Blinken warns China over trade tactics, Russia ties
While in Beijing and Shanghai last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also discussed Ukraine with Xi and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and warned Beijing against further support of Russia’s defence industrial base. Blinken echoed the EU’s concerns regarding China’s “non-market economic policies and practices,” and reiterated the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait.
During and after Blinken’s visit, Beijing criticized a refreshed U.S. aid package to Taiwan — signed into law last week by U.S. President Joe Biden — and asserted that the assistance to Taiwan “gravely” infringed upon China’s sovereignty.
Lai Ching-te awaits inauguration
Beijing has so far rejected offers to speak with Taiwan’s president-elect, Lai Ching-te, who unveiled his cabinet and security team last week. Lai tapped current national security council head Wellington Koo as defence minister and shuffled in current foreign minister Joseph Wu to replace Koo. Lin Chia-lung, acting secretary-general to the president, will replace Wu as foreign minister. The island’s intelligence chief will retain his role.
The lack of a dramatic reorganization suggests Lai isn’t looking to “rock the boat” on security and defence, ensuring a degree of cross-strait predictability as he prepares for his inauguration on May 20.
