Xi Jinping’s travel destinations France, Hungary and Serbia tell about the priorities of China’s current European policy.
BEIJING President of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party Xi Jinping leaves for a rare visit to Europe on Sunday.
The 70-year-old Xi has generally traveled little in recent years. He last visited Europe in 2019.
The six-day visit is overshadowed by the strained relations between the EU and China. In recent weeks, the EU has launched several investigations into Chinese companies, China’s trade practices and hybrid influence.
Xi met with the German Chancellor last month By Olaf Scholz in Beijing. It is therefore natural that he misses mighty Germany during his visit to Europe. However, the travel program has caused consternation, as Xi only visits France, Hungary and Serbia.
– Serbia and Hungary are seen as symbolically important destinations in Beijing. A visit to Budapest offers an opportunity to break up the EU’s anti-China ranks, an expert on China-EU relations Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy said Voice of Americain an interview with the radio channel.
Hungarian Minister of Finance Mihaly Varga praised the upcoming visit in an interview with Chinese television station CCTV.
– We are looking forward to Mr. Xi’s visit to Budapest. It will be a fantastic visit. We want to discuss taking our cooperation to new levels. He is a determined and brilliant leader of a very large state, Varga said.
Hungary as a bridgehead for the Chinese
In 2012, China launched a special project to increase investment and trade with Central and Eastern Europe. Initially, 14 European countries participated in it.
The Baltic countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have left the project, and cooperation with the others has not yielded the desired results either, with the exception of Hungary and Serbia.
China is financing the bullet train line being built between Budapest and Belgrade.
In the video below, Minister Varga says that Hungary also hopes for cooperation in the future renovation of the Budapest airport.
Hungary is the center of the European operations of the Chinese technology giant, the world’s largest network equipment manufacturer Huawei. The US placed Huawei on its sanctions list in 2019, accusing it of espionage. Suspicions have also been raised in Europe that the company would use its 5G technology for spying.
China may need a Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán help in the EU, if investigations of Chinese companies lead to wider actions. The EU Commission has launched four different investigations into potentially distorting subsidies.
Europeans are worried that new Chinese electric cars will take away jobs in the industry in Europe. The EU is investigating whether the Chinese manufacture their cheap electric cars with subsidies that violate trade rules.
Last week, EU competition authorities made a surprise raid on the premises of the Chinese security equipment manufacturer Nuctech in the Netherlands and Poland. Last Friday, the clothing manufacturer Shein came under special scrutiny from the EU not only regarding its trade practices but also regarding the treatment of its employees and the environmental risks of manufacturing.
Trade and Ukraine presented at the EU meeting
Xi’s first stop is Paris. President Emmanuel Macron the chairman of the EU Commission also participates in the negotiations hosted by Ursula von der Leyen. After this, Macron takes Xi to the peace of the countryside in the Haute-Pyrénéés to have a one-on-one conversation with his guest.
French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné visited Beijing a month ago to prepare for the upcoming summit. He said at the time that the EU’s ever-increasing trade deficit with China will come up in the Paris talks.
China has promised to make it easier for foreign companies to enter its market. However, European companies are concerned about new security laws passed by China at the same time, which will increase the surveillance of foreigners in the country.
Xi is expected to raise his concerns about the efforts of the EU and European companies reduce its China risk.
Macron is expected to talk to Xi about Ukraine, but it is unclear whether he will make demands on China. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week bluntly demanded that China stop supporting Russia’s war of aggression.
Trade between China and Russia has grown drastically in the last two years. In this way, China keeps the wheels of the Russian economy and at the same time its war machine running.