On April 6, 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and French President Macron attended the official welcome ceremony in Beijing.
Ludovic Marin | AFP | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping began a trip to three European countries on Sunday, with the continent divided over how to respond to Beijing’s growing power and Sino-U.S. competition.
European carmakers are losing ground to Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. Diplomats are worried about alleged Chinese spies in European capitals. China’s continued defense trade with Russia worries all Europeans who support war-torn Ukraine and fear that Russian forces will not stop there.
But Europe and China have close economic ties – EU trade with China is estimated at 2.3 billion euros a day – and Xi appears determined to rebuild and deepen ties with European leaders after a long absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xi Jinping set off on Sunday in France, where the president wants Europe to become more economically and strategically independent from other world powers. The Chinese president then traveled to Serbia and Hungary, countries considered friendly to China, close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and recipients of significant Chinese investment.
Washington will be watching Xi Jinping’s visit closely for signs of waning European support for its key foreign policy goals. At the same time, there is growing uncertainty in Europe about the future of U.S. support for the transatlantic alliance.
Xi was greeted at Paris’s Orly airport by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and met with protests from groups demanding France pressure China to respect the rights of Tibet and the Uyghurs. Activists seeking a free Tibet tried to unfurl a banner under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Saturday and staged a protest in the French capital as Xi Jinping’s plane landed.
On Monday, French President Macron will pay an official state visit to the Chinese leader. They will also meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is expected to join Macron in pushing for fairer trade policies and pushing China to use its influence over Russia to push for an end to the war in Ukraine.
The European Union launched an investigation into Chinese subsidies last fall and may impose tariffs on electric vehicle exports from China.
China claims to be neutral in the Ukraine conflict but refuses to call Russia’s sweeping attack on its neighbor an invasion and has been accused of boosting Russia’s ability to produce weapons.
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