Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a state visit in France as part of a three-nation European tour to strengthen political and economic ties amid global tensions. Mr. Xi’s six-day tour is his first to Europe since 2019. After leaving France on Tuesday (May 7), he will travel to Serbia and Hungary.
According to observers, China’s foreign policy has prioritized Europe since lifting COVID-19 restrictions.
China has advocated for a “multipolar world” and sees Europe as a separate and independent actor from the United States, which “would give the PRC (People’s Republic of China) a little bit more maneuvering space,” according to political scientist Chong Ja Ian. They see a world with multiple major actors, one in which the sort that fosters competition and adjustment gives the PRC strategic space to move around.”
Dr. Chong, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, told CNA’s East Asia Tonight on Monday that China “is also trying to seek more investment from around the world, (and) the Europeans are one of the sorts of sources that the PRC is looking to.”
“(French President Emmanuel) Macron has talked about how Europe needs to be more independent of the United States, so (France) seems like a good place for Xi to start,” said Dr. Chong, who is also a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China.
Dr Cedomir Nestorovic, professor of international marketing and geopolitics at ESSEC Business School (Asia Pacific), stated that the three countries chosen for the tour are surprising.
Mr. Xi’s visit to France coincides with the 60th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations, demonstrating the relative warmth between the two sides.
Analysts believe Mr Macron’s choice of France as the only significant European power to visit demonstrates his status as a power broker within the European Union.
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