Chinese President Xi Jinping’s European Tour to Address Key Issues in a Changing Landscape
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will embark on a high-profile tour of Hungary, Serbia, and France in early May, marking his first trip to Europe since the pandemic. The trip will be rich in symbolism and comes at a crucial time with Russia advancing on the battlefield in Ukraine, escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels, and potential fallout from November’s U.S. election.
Against this backdrop, Xi will be looking to repair some of the damage done to the relationship with Europe since his last trip to the continent. In particular, he’ll be aiming to unwind some of the European Union’s moves toward de-risking, which Beijing sees as an unwelcome alignment between Brussels and Washington.
Another thing on the agenda will be China’s participation at the upcoming peace summit in Switzerland about the war in Ukraine set for mid-June. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been trying to court China to participate, as was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Beijing last week. EU officials say Beijing has been pushing for Russia to have a seat at the table as well, something Kyiv (and perhaps even Moscow) is not willing to accept at the moment. With that in mind, it’s unclear if China will participate or boycott the talks.
The dates of the tour have not been publicly announced, but various European officials have pointed toward May 7 as a starting day, a date that has also been reported by Serbian media as when Xi could visit Belgrade. The date makes sense as it falls on the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of China’s embassy in Belgrade, which serves as a major event in the countries’ relations. The destroyed embassy has since been transformed into an expansive Chinese cultural center that is set to be the largest in Europe.
Xi also visited the site the last time he went to Serbia in 2016, laying flowers and making a speech at a monument on the compound in honor of the Chinese diplomats who were killed in the 1999 bombing.
While the visit to Paris is an opportunity to focus on China’s wider relationship with Europe, the stops in Hungary and Serbia will allow Beijing to show that its influence in Central and Eastern Europe is still intact. Over the last few years, the 17+1 (China’s diplomatic grouping to engage with the region) has seen members leave, making it the 16+1, while other Central and Eastern European countries have downgraded and deprioritized the bloc. Showing its stature in an EU member like Hungary also sends an important message. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has courted Chinese investment and closer ties as he’s sparred with Brussels. In February, Budapest announced a new security deal with China that could see Chinese police patrols in the country.
Meanwhile, Hungarian and Chinese officials are active in the leadup to the visit, likely looking to announce new initiatives and progress on long delayed projects. Hungarian Economy Minister Marton Nagy received a Chinese delegation on April 18 where they discussed, among other things, the status of the Chinese-financed $1.9 billion Budapest-Belgrade railway project.
