Xi Jinping aims to drive a wedge between Europe and the US - Bloomberg
Date: 2024-04-30 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WORLD
Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France, Serbia and Hungary should show that Beijing has much more to offer the EU than the United States admits.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China reported that the Chinese leader's five-day trip to France, Serbia and Hungary will begin on May 5. According to Bloomberg, despite numerous checks of Beijing's industrial policy by the European Union and warnings from Washington, these countries are seeking Chinese investment.
French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to deepen his personal ties with Xi and attract investment in the electric vehicle battery sector, according to journalists. He should also urge the leader of the PRC to influence Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
"Macron is offering Xi the opportunity to negotiate with a leading EU state that has proven itself willing to forge a more independent path. This trip is an attempt to attract parts of Europe that Xi believes may be more receptive to his position," the associate professor said. Political Science at the National University of Singapore Chong Ja Yan.
The head of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, in a conversation with Macron’s diplomatic adviser, expressed hope that Paris will be able to push the European Union towards a pragmatic policy towards China.
"I think this is an attempt to convince the Europeans that there are better options, that a better relationship is possible. I think the Chinese will agree that their relationship is not ideal," said the lecturer on China-European relations at the Brussels School of Management Si Freeman.
The visit to Serbia comes during the week of the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese embassy in the Serbian capital, and Hungary is one of the countries that opposed an EU plan to blacklist some Chinese firms for supplying technology used in Russian weapons.
"Xi is visiting countries where it is easier to sell hostility to the US-led global security architecture. By enlisting the support of friendly countries, Beijing can make it clear that Europe is on China's side, no matter what Brussels says," says Stradins, director of the Center for Chinese Studies at Riga University. Una Alexandra Berzina-Cherenkova.
