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As China’s Xi Jinping visits Europe, Ukraine, trade & investment are to top the agenda

Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years, as the Asian giant rebuilds its foreign relations after a prolonged absence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Xi will start the tour in Paris on Monday, meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been stressing the idea of European strategic autonomy from the U.S. On a visit to Beijing last year, Macron courted controversy by saying France would not necessarily always align with the U.S. in foreign policy, an apparent reference to American support for the self-governing republic of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

Quick Read

  • Xi Jinping’s European Tour: Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to visit Europe, focusing on Ukraine, trade, and investment topics during his first European tour in five years.
  • Starting in Paris: Xi’s journey begins in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron. Discussions are anticipated to explore European strategic autonomy and relations with the U.S., particularly concerning Taiwan.
  • Visits to Hungary and Serbia: Following France, Xi will travel to Hungary and Serbia, both allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and noted for their friendly relations with China.
  • Impact on U.S. Relations: Xi’s trip is watched closely by Washington for indications of shifting European support for U.S. foreign policy goals, especially concerning economic and military alliances.
  • Symbolic Anniversaries and Agreements: The visit also marks 60 years of French-Chinese diplomatic ties and includes strategic talks involving European Union leaders, highlighting significant bilateral and international discussions.
  • Economic and Infrastructure Investments: Xi’s visit will underscore China’s economic influence in Hungary and Serbia through significant investments and infrastructure projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, including a major railway project linking Budapest and Belgrade.
  • Historical and Military Contexts: The tour will address historical sensitivities and current military engagements, reflecting on past NATO actions in Serbia and discussing China’s stance on the Ukraine conflict and its “no limits friendship” with Russia.
  • Controversial Arms Trade: The tour occurs amidst controversy over China’s alleged role in bolstering Russia’s military capabilities against Ukraine, complicating international relations and highlighting the geopolitical strategies of major global powers.

The Associated Press has the story:

As China’s Xi Jinping visits Europe, Ukraine, trade & investment are to top the agenda

Newslooks- TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) —

Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years, as the Asian giant rebuilds its foreign relations after a prolonged absence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

FILE- French President Emmanuel Macron, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping after meeting the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Xi will start his Europe tour in Paris on May 6-7, 2024, meeting with Macron, who has been stressing the idea of European strategic autonomy from the U.S. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File)

Xi will start the tour in Paris on Monday, meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been stressing the idea of European strategic autonomy from the U.S. On a visit to Beijing last year, Macron courted controversy by saying France would not necessarily always align with the U.S. in foreign policy, an apparent reference to American support for the self-governing republic of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

After leaving France, Xi will visit Hungary and Serbia, both seen as China-friendly and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, rebuffing Western criticism of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

FILE- French President Emmanuel Macron walks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony held outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Xi will start his Europe tour in Paris on May 6-7, 2024, meeting with Macron, who has been stressing the idea of European strategic autonomy from the U.S. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, Pool, File)

Xi’s European visits will be closely followed in Washington for signs of diminishing support for its key foreign policy goals.

The Chinese leader will arrive in France just as Paris is putting the finishing touches on its preparations for hosting the Summer Olympics, an event in which China invests huge amount of national prestige.

France sees Xi’s visit, which officially marks 60 years of French-Chinese diplomatic relations, as an important diplomatic moment, and wants to focus on China’s broader relations with the EU. Macron invited European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to the talks Monday.

FILE- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for photographers as they meet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Tuesday, May 16, 2017. The two countries have a long history of friendship, particularly since 1999, when NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese nationals, during the air war to end Serbia’s brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. (Damir Sagolj/Pool Photo via AP)

It comes a month before Macron, who positions himself as the diplomatic leader of Europe, hosts Biden for a similar state visit.

It is also a sign of “the good vibes from Macron’s visit to China in April last year,” said Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London.

“This is a highly strategic visit to Europe by Xi. And in his itinerary you can divine the runes of Chinese policy on Europe now, bolstering the traditional links as far as possible, and reinforcing new ones,” Brown said.

FILE- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a welcome ceremony with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, left, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2014. Hungary is the first EU member to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to build billions of dollars of roads, ports, power plants and other infrastructure across Asia, Africa and beyond. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Xi’s is also visiting Budapest, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in power for 14 years, is facing political challenges from the opposition over his authoritarian style.

Hungary has straddled a middle ground between its membership in the EU and NATO and an unusual openness to diplomatic and trade relationships with eastern autocracies such as Russia and China.

Orbán, a right-wing populist who has forged close ties with Russia, delayed Sweden’s entry into NATO for months. China has cited NATO expansion as provoking Russia to invade Ukraine.

Hungary is the first EU member to participate in Xi’s signature Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to build billions of dollars of roads, ports, power plants and other infrastructure across Asia, Africa and beyond.

A Chinese flag is placed near flowers on a monument at the site of a former Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. During NATO bombing campaign, in 1999, jets bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three people and 20 injured. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Orbán was the only EU leader to attend a conference in Beijing on the BRI, which has been criticized for burying participating countries in debt and failing to deliver on promised investments, something that prompted Italy to drop out last year.

Despite that, Hungary’s government has deepened its economic ties with China, with the proliferation of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery factories across the country gaining the most attention. Near Debrecen, Hungary’s second-largest city, construction is underway of a nearly 550-acre, 7.3 billion euro ($7.9 billion) EV battery plant, Hungary’s largest-ever foreign direct investment.

FILE – A motorcyclist rides past a billboard showing Serbian and Chinese flags that read: “Serbs and Chinese brothers forever” placed on a street prior to a curfew set up to help prevent the spread of the new coronavirus in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 13, 2020. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary next week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

China has also invested heavily in infrastructure to link Hungary with its southern neighbor Serbia, Xi’s next stop on his European tour.

In 2014, Hungary and Serbia concluded an agreement with Beijing to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to link up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece, to the south, an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe.

The more than $2 billion project is expected to be completed in 2026, after numerous delays.

FILE- France’s President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Sun Yat-sen university in Guangzhou, China, Friday, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

In Serbia, Xi will hold talks with President Aleksandar Vucic, with whose government China has built strong relations.

The two countries have a long history of friendship, particularly since 1999, when NATO bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese nationals, during the air war to end Serbia’s brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo.

The U.S. apologized, saying faulty target selection was to blame, but the incident led to violent attacks on U.S. diplomatic installations in China and fueled anti-American sentiment in both countries that endures to this day.

A man with a dog walks by a construction site in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary next week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In 2022, shortly after the Russian assault on Ukraine, Serbia took semi-secret delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system flown in on six Chinese Air Force Y-20 transport planes. The arms delivery over the territory of at least two NATO member states, Turkey and Bulgaria, was seen by experts as a demonstration of China’s growing global reach.

China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict but Xi and Putin declared their governments had a “no limits friendship” before Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. China has refused to call the Russian assault an invasion and has been accused of bolstering Russia’s capacity to produce weapons and its military advantage against Ukraine, which is awaiting tens of billions in Western military aid.

A statue of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius stands in front of the Chinese Cultural Center in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, April 29, 2024. Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit France, Serbia and Hungary next week as Beijing appears to seek a larger role in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that has upended global political and economic security. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A U.S. military aid bill passed last week allots $61 billion for Ukraine, as well as $8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, which China has condemned as a dangerous provocation.

China’s foreign ministry said the U.S. position on Chinese defense trade with Russia was hypocritical when considered alongside the amount of military assistance Washington is providing to Kyiv.

FILE- Construction is underway for a battery factory for electric vehicles built by China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) in Debrecen, Hungary on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Hungary’s government has deepened its economic ties with China, with the proliferation of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery factories across the country gaining the most attention. Near Debrecen, construction is underway of a nearly 550-acre, 7.3 billion euro ($7.9 billion) EV battery plant, Hungary’s largest-ever foreign direct investment. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos, File)

China denies selling arms to Russia and the U.S. says it has found no direct evidence of such evidence of such. However, China does sell machine tools, microelectronics and other technology that Moscow in turn is using to produce missiles, tanks, aircraft and other weaponry for use in its war against Ukraine, according to a U.S. assessment.

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