[Analytics] Xi’s visit to boost EU ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Italy, Monaco and France from March 21 to 26, as the US puts pressure on its EU allies to help contain China, with experts saying European countries should make pragmatic and independent decisions when dealing with China to achieve win-win cooperation. Yang Sheng specially for the Global Times.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Xi’s visit to Europe on Monday.

This is the first visit to Italy by a Chinese President in a decade. The last time was in 2009 by then Chinese president Hu Jintao. This is also the first state visit by a Chinese President to Monaco.

President Xi’s choice of Europe as the destination of his first foreign trip this year shows that China attaches great importance to the continent, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference in Brussels on Monday.

Wang is in Brussels for the ninth round of the China-EU high-level strategic dialogue on Monday.

The trip also sends a clear signal that despite the changes in the international situation, China’s foreign relations always gives priority to Europe, said Wang.

He said the trip will offer more positive energy to safeguard multilateralism and contribute to European countries’ engagement in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Earlier this month, before China announced the visit, Italy made known its interest in joining the BRI, which would be the first G7 member to join the BRI. Washington then warned that Rome’s intention to join on the scheme could “hurt its international reputation.”

However, US pressure doesn’t work quite well. After Italy, Malta, an EU member and an island country in the Mediterranean, said it was considering joining the BRI as well.

In an interview with CNBC, Edward Scicluna, Malta’s finance minister, said that “certain prejudices” [on China] should not come in the way of good business opportunities.

Wang Yiwei, a professor at Renmin University of China’s School of International Relations, said more European countries are starting to make independent and pragmatic decisions when dealing with China to serve their own interests, because in many cases, the EU and the US cannot solve their problems effectively.

For instance, Italy cannot receive assistance from the US and the EU to solve its economic and financial problems, and Italy also has differences with the EU on immigration, Cui Hongjian, director of EU Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

“More cooperation with China could help Italy deal with its challenges,” said Cui.

China’s philosophy of international relations is to build a community of shared future for mankind, and international members should make independent decisions about their future, Wang noted.

The Xinhua News Agency reported that Albert II, the reigning monarch of the principality of Monaco, has visited China 10 times. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee, and he supported China’s bids, including the 2020 Beijing Winter Olympics.

Xi once said on the China-Monaco relationship that although the two countries are far apart, and two countries’ national conditions are very different, they can still have mutual respect, treat each other equally and have win-win cooperation, and this has set a good example for relations between different countries, Xinhua reported.

Chinese observers also noted that the China-Monaco relationship is an ideal model for other European countries to deal with China.

Protecting multilateralism

After Italy and Monaco, France is the last stop of Xi’s trip. Lu said that Xi will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and the two sides will exchange views on China-France, China-EU and other international and regional issues.

China and France are maintaining close communication on issues such as safeguarding multilateralism, improving global governance, and dealing with climate change, Lu noted.

Safeguarding multilateralism is a common goal for China and the EU, Cui said, because when the US embraces unilateralism by withdrawing from a series of international organizations and agreements, China and the EU are victims, as well as other members.

China and France are also responsible for and capable of balancing the negative impact brought by US unilateralism, Chinese analysts noted.

On matters like climate change, the Iranian nuclear deal and WTO reforms, China and France share a lot in common, they said.

The EU also has concerns on China. The European Commission released its “EU-China: Strategic Outlook” on March 12, saying China is “an economic competitor in the pursuit of technological leadership, and a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance.”

The EU’s changing attitude toward China is mainly due to its internal pressure. China and the US are engaged in trade talks, and there are also concerns in Europe. Once the two sides reach an agreement, the EU is concerned that Beijing will give the US more market access, said Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

There’s no need for such concerns because China will keep a balance between the US and the EU and won’t sacrifice Europe’s interests to satisfy the US, said Wang Yiwei.

When asked whether China-US trade frictions would present opportunities or create a negative impact on China-European relations, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed Friday at a press conference that China will not exploit any third party, nor would it target or hurt the interests of any third party.

China-US trade frictions is something between China and the US, said the premier.

Cui noted that “China should be pragmatic and use the EU’s concerns to improve itself in fields like transparency and openness.”

Chen Qingqing and Sun Haoran contributed to this story