Chinese leader Xi Jinping received a gift of luxury cognac at the Elysée Palace in Paris and was cheered in Belgrade by Serbs waving Chinese flags, most of them government workers who had arrived by bus. .
And by the time he left Hungary on Friday after a six-day tour of Europe, the clouds over his country’s relations with the West, at least from China’s perspective, seemed to have faded considerably.
Mr. Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron that bilateral relations would be “as vibrant and prosperous as spring.” In the next destination, “the tree of friendship between China and Serbia will grow tall and strong,” he said. In Hungary, Mr. Xi told Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that the two countries were ready to “embark on a golden journey.”
China’s state-run media outlets constantly trumpeted Mr. Xi and went to great lengths to portray the European meeting as a victory.
There was no progress on trade, the war in Ukraine, or other issues of deteriorating relations, only a long list of new joint projects that China claimed would help finance. Hungary scored 18 points, while Serbia scored dozens more. French companies have signed contracts for energy, finance and transportation projects.
However, the red carpet reception that Mr. Xi received in all three countries helped give a rosy hue to China-Europe relations. Relations have only worsened since Mr. Xi’s last visit five years ago.
For much of the coronavirus pandemic, China had strict travel restrictions, with high-level visits in either direction blocked. And just as the coronavirus crisis began to fade, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, deepening Europe’s disengagement from China.
This week, after his first visit to Paris, Mr. Xi visited Serbia and Hungary, two countries that remain reliably pro-Beijing on a continent where polls show China’s reputation has plummeted.
In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić declared his country had nothing but “respect and love” for the Chinese president, and police were banned from disrupting the government-orchestrated welcome to the president. Members of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong were detained. .Xi.
In Hungary, Mr. Orbán promised Mr. Xi, the leader of the world’s largest communist country, that he would “feel at home” in Budapest, which is dotted with monuments to the fight against communism. Police banned a planned protest in central Budapest and cleared a busy downtown area to allow Mr. Xi to visit an office tower undisturbed on Friday.
The goal of Mr. Xi’s trip to Europe is to “demonstrate and strengthen China’s ability to maintain friendly relations with Europe despite NATO and Ukraine,” said Yun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington. Mr. Sun said. France, Serbia and Hungary are the “most China-friendly countries” in Europe, she added.
And although Hungary is only the size of the state of Indiana and has fewer than 10 million people, it will play an extraordinary role this year when it takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union. Although its role is primarily bureaucratic, it allows Hungary to set the agenda for meetings of the European Union’s governing center of power, the Council of the European Union.
“Hungary is China’s Trojan horse in the European Union,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestin, a China expert at the Asia Center, a research group in Paris. He added that although Xi did not accomplish much during his stay in France, he “helped China’s position” by strengthening ties with Serbia and Hungary.
In an interview with Magyar Nemzet, a Hungarian news outlet controlled by Orbán’s Fidesz party, Mr. Xi expressed hope that this would happen in Hungary. “taking the lead” in “maintaining the right direction for EU-China relations”;
Noah Barkin, a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund in the US who studies relations between Europe and China, said Orbán could use just six months as Hungarian council president to shift European policy. He said it was a mistake for China to have high expectations. Significantly. “The idea that Hungary will be at the mercy of China during his presidential term is fanciful,” he said.
But Orbán has a long history of swimming against the tide set by more powerful European countries. He was the only EU leader to visit Beijing in October for a rally celebrating Mr Xi’s foreign policy signature Belt and Road infrastructure plan. He was also the only leader to block the European Union’s planned 2021 statement criticizing China over its crackdown on Hong Kong.
China and Hungary are “natural allies” because they share a determination to pursue their national interests no matter what anyone says, pro-government Hungarian commentator Levente Sitkei told Magyar Nemzet.
“China has alliances that it thinks are beneficial, but it never cares what other people think in any forum,” Sitkei said. “Hungary acts exactly the same way.”
Even before Mr. Xi’s visit, China had made some progress in restoring its influence in Europe. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz flew to Beijing last month and tempered warnings of trade tensions by emphasizing Germany’s commitment to doing business with China.
Some in the Chinese government appear confident that China will succeed in steering European governments away from working with Washington.
Wang Wen, a researcher at the Chongyang Financial Research Institute, said: “European politicians often make a big show of shaking their fists at China, but in their hearts they believe that Europe could do without the contribution of economic cooperation with China.” I am well aware of what I should not do.” He spoke to Chinese news site Guancha this week at Renmin University in Beijing. “More and more Europeans are waking up to the fact that after losing Russia, we cannot lose China.”
But many in Europe remain deeply wary of the partnership between Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin, and the relationship is likely to return to the spotlight when Mr. Putin visits China in the coming weeks.A number of arrests have been made in the UK and Germany recently. Accusations of Chinese espionage are also causing anxiety.
And even when it comes to trade, which Mr. Xi has emphasized as the lifeblood of the nation, Despite the cooperation, tensions are rising over the proliferation of electric cars and other products made in China.
“Xi’s visit will not reassure anyone who was hoping for a sign that China is taking Europe’s concerns seriously,” Barkin said.
Mr. Xi’s final day in Hungary was surprisingly uneventful for a leader whose normally packed schedule has earned him the nickname “Chairman of Everything.” According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Mr. Orban gave Mr. Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan a tour of Budapest.
“The two leaders sat outside the window and watched the clouds pass by,” Xinhua News Agency reported. “They were comfortable talking about their experiences growing up and their thoughts on governance, and we came to many points of agreement.”
Barnabas Heincz contributed reporting from Budapest. david pearson From Hong Kong.
