TEIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Ukraine, trade and investment are expected to top the agenda on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s first trip to Europe in five years, as the Asian giant rebuilds its foreign relations after an absence prolonged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xi will begin his tour in Paris on Monday, meeting with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, who has emphasized the idea of European strategic autonomy from the United States. On a visit to Beijing last year, Macron sparked controversy by saying that France will not necessarily always align with the United States on foreign policy, an apparent reference to American support for the autonomous 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 considered friends of China and close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, rejecting Western criticism of his large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Xi’s visits to Europe will be closely watched in Washington, which is looking for signs of waning support for his key foreign policy goals.
The Chinese president will arrive in France just as Paris puts the finishing touches on its preparations to host the Olympic Games, an event in which China invests great national prestige.
France sees Xi’s visit, which officially marks 60 years of Franco-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 Monday’s talks.
It comes a month before Macron, who positions himself as Europe’s diplomatic leader, hosts Biden for a similar state visit.
Xi will also visit Budapest, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in power for 14 years, faces political challenges from the opposition over his authoritarian style.
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2024-05-06 00:02:03
