London
Three senior European leaders have traveled thousands of miles to Beijing in recent days to see Chinese President Xi Jinping, yet the center of their discussions lie much closer to home in Ukraine.
The backdrop to Xi’s meetings with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and French President Emmanuel Macron is the continuing conflict. Russia’s invasion has left Europe, and the wider West, including the US and Canada, more united than in years.
So, as China’s relations with the US remain at rock bottom, Beijing is keen to avoid a long-lasting public spat with the EU 27, too, which are collectively one of the country’s biggest trading partners. Indeed, one driver of Xi’s 12-point “peace plan” released last month is softening European and broader international opinion about China’s stance on the conflict, rather than being a realistic blueprint for quickly resolving the situation.
China’s deteriorating relationship with the US has given Europe more leverage. Xi particularly wants to revive discussions over the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, an accord inked in 2021, but which has yet to be ratified by the European Parliament.
This potential “window of opportunity” will be seized on by Macron, in particular, given his desire for Europe to bolster what he calls its “strategic autonomy” with regards to other global powers.
And it is no coincidence that Macron will be accompanied on his trip by Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, plus business leaders from about 50 firms, including Veolia, EDF and Airbus.
What Macron and von der Leyen stressed to Xi is that Europe wants to maintain engagement with China, but that this will be much harder if he continues to support Russia in Ukraine, and potentially intensifies this later. That is why von der Leyen previously said the bloc is looking to “de-risk” diplomatically and economically, without “decoupling” completely from Beijing.
