Chinese President Xi Jinping started a trip to Europe on Sunday, visiting three countries. Europe is unsure how to handle China’s growing power and its rivalry with the United States.
European carmakers are having trouble competing with cheap Chinese electric cars. There are worries about Chinese spies in European cities, and some Europeans are concerned about China’s military deals with Russia, especially since Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
But Europe and China do a lot of business together, with trade worth about 2.3 billion euros per day. Xi wants to improve relations with European leaders after a break due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xi begins in France, whose president wants Europe to be less dependent on other big countries. Then he goes to Serbia and Hungary, which have good relations with China and Russia and gets a lot of Chinese money.
America will pay attention to Xi’s trip to see if Europe is less supportive of its goals. Meanwhile, Europe is uncertain about America’s support.
Xi will be greeted in France by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, but there will also be protests. People want France to pressure China on issues like Tibet and the Uyghurs. Some activists tried to put up a banner in Paris demanding a free Tibet when Xi arrived.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron will give Xi a full state visit. They will meet with Ursula von der Leyen, who wants fairer trade and for China to help end the war in Ukraine.
The EU is looking into Chinese subsidies and might put tariffs on Chinese electric cars.
China says it’s neutral in the Ukraine conflict but hasn’t called Russia’s actions an invasion. It’s also accused of helping Russia make weapons.
