On his first official visit to the European continent in five years, and after two days of fruitless meetings in France, the Chinese president landed in the capital of Serbia, before heading to Hungary. The second phase of the tour, which includes “Beijing’s two most loyal allies in Europe”, is full of symbolism and contains important messages for the EU, the US and NATO
When Xi Jinping said goodbye to Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, after a two-day official visit to France, there was no right to the usual photography that records these diplomatic meetings for posterity. After the French president and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, tried to convince his Chinese counterpart to align with Europe to the detriment of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the absence of an official portrait “was emblematic of the state visit in as a whole, which failed to dispel the ominous clouds hanging over the bilateral relationship” EU-China, wrote Le Monde this Wednesday.
Hours later, the Chinese head of state was leaving for the capital of Serbia, which had not been on the map of Xi’s visits to the continent for five years. It was 2019, before the pandemic and the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Chinese leader was received in a “rose-colored setting” in France and Italy, explains Matej Šimalčík, executive director of the Center European Institute of Asian Studies (SUPPERS).
In Paris, “Xi witnessed the signing of multimillion-dollar trade agreements, including an order for 300 Airbus planes worth 30 billion euros.” The visit to Rome “was also fruitful” and saw Italy become the first G7 state to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – a year earlier, on Xi’s first official visit to Portugal, Lisbon had also joined had associated with Xi’s great external venture, the so-called New Silk Road, opening the door to the Portuguese-speaking market with more than 280 million consumers (following the war in Ukraine, it would end up distancing itself from the project).
This time, the visit to France was far from being a bed of roses – in half a decade, a lot had changed. “Relations between the European Union and China have become more complicated,” explains Šimalčík. “Italy left the BRI in 2023, before three Baltic States left the China-CEE Cooperation platform, a component of the BRI in itself.”
Since then, “the EU has also adopted a series of new instruments to protect itself from interference and weaponization of trade by China and other authoritarian states – symptomatic of the significant deterioration of views on China in Europe, particularly due to the Covid pandemic. 19 and China’s support for Russia in its aggression against Ukraine”, indicates the analyst.
After the visit to France concluded, the second phase of Xi’s European tour began this Wednesday, in a clear demonstration that the Chinese president “is interacting with two very different versions of Europe”, highlights Šimalčík. “While in France he was pressured by Macron and Von der Leyen on a series of contentious issues, including economic dependencies and the situation in Ukraine, in Belgrade and Budapest Xi will be received much more cordially, given that Serbia and Hungary are the Beijing’s most faithful allies in Europe.”
Xi Jinping was received this Wednesday by Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, and a crowd in Belgrade (Serbian Presidency)
“Together we challenged power politics”
Travel to the capitals of central and eastern Europe are full of symbolism. In Serbia, the visit coincides with the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade by NATO forces 25 years ago. Soon after, in Hungary, it will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries – which could prove to be a “milestone” with “important global implications”, the Chinese ambassador argued a week ago in Budapest, in a meeting with journalists.
The importance of Xi being received by Viktor Orbán during the week of Europe Day and at the time of the 20th anniversary of Hungary’s accession to the EU is not to be underestimated, in what analysts say is a “clear and challenging message” to the continent. “These visits will allow Xi Jinping to fight back against the critical policies towards China that are being adopted in the EU and, at the same time, give an image of the lack of consensus in Europe in relation to China”, highlights the director of CEIAS .
“For China, the visit to Serbia is an opportunity to condemn NATO and its alleged expansion in the Indo-Pacific”, now that, in the face of Beijing’s sovereignty claims in the region, the Atlantic alliance has been strengthening relations with the Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. In Hungary, Xi is preparing to unveil new bilateral projects and “present them as a success story of economic collaboration” with a European partner.
Marking the idea of two Europes are the speeches of its protagonists since the beginning of the week. On Monday, on the day of official meetings between the Chinese delegation and French authorities, Xi made a point of highlighting that the world must avoid a “new Cold War”, in a renewed attempt to convince European governments to move away from politics. US foreign policy, seen by the Chinese as a weapon to contain its rise.
This Wednesday, on the eve of his arrival in Budapest, he praised the “independence” of Hungarian foreign policy and the Orbán government’s commitment to “challenging power”. In a letter published in the media of the Hungarian group Magyar Nemzet, the Chinese president asks Orbán to “lead” the relations of central and eastern European nations with his country. “Together we went through difficulties and together we challenged power politics in the context of volatile international relations. We have found our own way for sovereign states to conduct friendly exchanges with other countries independently.”
Hungary’s prime minister was the only European leader to attend the Silk and Road Initiative Forum in Beijing seven months ago – and the only one to meet Vladimir Putin since the start of the war in Ukraine (AP)
“When we are asked about China, we don’t have complicated answers”
The message couldn’t be clearer – “a reference to the way in which Orbán, Europe’s longest-serving prime minister, has defied pressure from Brussels, the US and NATO, maintaining friendly relations with Moscow and deepening its trade relations with China”, writes the Financial Times.
This was demonstrated by his meeting with Putin in October, on the sidelines of the BRI forum in Beijing, at which Orbán was the only European leader to be present. “Our two countries need to lead regional cooperation” to ensure “firm” relations between Beijing and the EU, writes Xi in the same letter published this Wednesday.
During his meetings with Macron and Von der Leyen, Xi did not give in on any of the points of contention with the bloc, including the fact that he is flooding the European market with cheap products and the fact that growing exchanges with Moscow are, in the eyes of from Brussels, helping the Russians circumvent Western sanctions since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
Upon arrival in Serbia, a non-EU member country, the Chinese leader was received with praise. “When we are asked about China, we don’t have complicated answers,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, standing alongside Xi. “As a small country, we have many problems and so we called our great friends, Mr. President. There is a strong feeling of friendship between our countries.”
The friendship translates into important deals for China, including the participation of Chinese companies in the construction of Belgrade’s first metro and the purchase by the Serbs of Chinese high-speed trains connecting Belgrade to Budapest, where between tomorrow and Friday At the fair there should be announcements of even more relevant economic partnerships.
According to Beijing’s calculations, foreign direct investment accumulated by Chinese companies in Hungary could reach 30 billion euros at the end of this year – and at the end of the week, at least 16 new agreements could be signed by Orbán and Xi Jinping, covering the energy, industry and infrastructure and construction sectors.
The start of a Beijing-Budapest cooperation program “which encompasses the entire nuclear energy portfolio” is also expected, said the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, without providing further details about what business will be generated during this visit: “Speak on specific companies during negotiations, before any agreement is reached, is contrary to Hungary’s national interests.”
For Matej Šimalčík, all this “will help mitigate some of the damage caused to China’s image by deteriorating relations with other EU Member States”. And after the mess in France, “it will allow Xi to conclude this trip to Europe in beauty”.
