Doing business with Beijing remains excellent – despite the Chinese promise of “unlimited partnership” with Russia. That is the message during China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s ongoing European tour. China is believed to be keen to repair relations with the EU, which has taken a beating from Beijing’s reluctance to formally condemn Russia’s war.
But so far the European trip has been more about the war than trade. The foreign ministers of both France and Germany have made strong calls to China to do more to end the war.
— It is necessary for China to use its relationship with Russia to make Russia understand that it is at a dead end – and to urge Russia to come to its senses, said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna after the meeting with Qin on Wednesday, according to news agency AFP.
“Taking the Attacker’s Side”
Nor during Qin’s first stop, in the German capital of Berlin on Tuesday, was it not long before the foreign minister was confronted about the war in Ukraine. Beijing is capable of doing significantly more to bring about an end to the war, argued Qin’s German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
— Neutrality means taking the side of the aggressor. Therefore, our guiding principle is to make it clear that we are on the victim’s side, Baerbock said during a joint press conference according to German media, referring to China’s alleged neutrality regarding the war.
Qin quickly came to China’s defense, claiming that Beijing is working to bring about peace negotiations and a ceasefire through “peaceful dialogue”.
Qin Gang shakes hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting of foreign ministers of the Asian Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Goa, India on May 4. Seeing red about sanctions
At the same time, Qin warned the EU against imposing sanctions on Chinese companies suspected of selling sensitive technology to Russia. Since the war broke out, Western countries have accused Beijing of circumventing sanctions and assisting Moscow politically and materially. Sanctions against Chinese companies are therefore expected to be part of the eleventh sanctions package that the EU is currently discussing.
— In such a case, we would react strongly and defend our country’s legitimate interests and our companies, Qin said in Berlin.
Relations between the EU and China have been strained since China refused to vote for a UN resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When Qin Gang lands in Oslo on Friday, it will be the first time he meets his Norwegian counterpart Anniken Huitfeldt. According to observers, Beijing hopes to improve relations with countries in northern Europe, not least considering that Finland recently became a NATO member.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt during an international conference on sustainable development in the Arctic, in which China is said to have great interests. Picture from January. China looks towards the Arctic
To the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post Dylan Loh, a professor of foreign policy at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said expanding relations with Norway would mean a “diplomatic victory” for China, which is “working hard to find friends”.
— It is important to have regular dialogue with China, which is one of the most important players in international politics and economics, Huitfeldt said this week, according to the Norwegian news agency NTB.
Ukraine, trade and China’s interests in Svalbard and the Arctic are believed to be on the agenda during the visit to Norway, NTB reports. Qin Gang will also meet Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
The relationship between Beijing and Oslo has been strained since 2010, when China was angered by the Norwegian Nobel committee awarding the peace prize to jailed democracy activist and academic Liu Xiaobo.