On his first visit to Europe in five years, Chinese President Xi Jinping was received in Paris by French President Emmanuel Macron and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who asked him for support in putting an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Xi’s visit to Paris served to mark the 60th anniversary of relations between France and the People’s Republic of China, but the force of the present prevailed. The Chinese President left the Elysee Palace with two very clear messages: Beijing must pressure Russia to abandon Ukraine and trade relations between Europe and China must be rebalanced.
As a backdrop to Xi’s European tour – which will also visit Serbia and Hungary in the coming days – is the opening of investigations into the commercial practices of Chinese companies, particularly in the sectors of electric vehicles and medical electronic devices, by Brussels. In retaliation, Beijing opened identical investigations targeting liqueur drinks imported from Europe, especially French cognac, on suspicion of dumping.
“The future of our continent very clearly depends on our ability to continue developing a balanced relationship with China,” said Macron at the launch of the tripartite meeting this Monday. The French President reaffirmed that the current international panorama “needs Sino-European dialogue more than ever”.
The president of the European Commission adopted a more incisive stance and specifically condemned “state-induced excess capacity [a produção excessiva face à procura no mercado], unequal access to the market and overdependencies”. Von der Leyen said he will not hesitate to “make use of all trade defense instruments” at the European Union’s disposal to correct what he called “unsustainable imbalances”.
“Europe will not stop taking the difficult decisions necessary to protect its economies and its security,” he declared.
Xi was more sparse in words and only said that he sees relations between China and Europe as fundamental. “At a time when the world is entering a new period of turmoil and change, as two important forces in the world, China and Europe must adhere to dialogue and cooperation,” he said.
Regarding European criticism of Chinese trade practices, Xi called for dialogue, but denied the existence of excess capacity problems “from the perspective of comparative advantage or in light of global demand”, according to Chinese state media.
Pressure on Moscow
The war in Ukraine also occupied an important place on the agenda of the three-way meeting in Paris, with Macron asking Xi for support for the proposal for an “Olympic truce” during the Paris Olympic Games this summer, according to the Le Monde. The coordination between France and China to deal with the current “major crises” in Ukraine and the Middle East is “absolutely decisive”, said the French President.
China’s position on the invasion of Ukraine has received a wide debate worldwide. Despite not directly condemning the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, the Chinese regime, although sharing many of Russia’s arguments regarding NATO’s expansionism in Europe, has not been a direct ally of Moscow in the conflict and has multiplied calls for peace.
Europe would like to see more action from China in this chapter. Macron told his Chinese counterpart to use his influence over the Kremlin to “contribute to a resolution of the conflict” in Ukraine, according to the Elysee Palace.
In the same sense, Von der Leyen said she hopes that China will use “all its influence over Russia” to abandon Ukraine and thanked Beijing for “its important role in appeasing nuclear threats due to Russia’s irresponsible behavior”.
During the meeting, Xi said he was working “vigorously” to establish conditions for peace negotiations in Ukraine, according to average Chinese state-owned companies cited by Reuters.
