The China-Europe Lovefest

The China-Europe Lovefest

07/12/14

Minxin Pei

Economics, Politics, China, Europe

Beijing is seen in many quarters of Europe as something akin to an economic savior. The price might be steep.

Chinese foreign policy has been stuck in a rough patch for the last two years. In East Asia, its territorial and maritime disputes with its neighbors have growing more ugly and dangerous. The all-important Sino-U.S. ties are seriously strained because of cyber espionage, Washington’s support for China’s defiant neighbors, and rising strategic distrust.

But for Beijing, there is at least one bright spot on the external front: its relations with major European countries have never been better. One can gauge Chinese success in wooing Europe by the number of European leaders who have jetted off to Beijing in recent years.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has just concluded her seventh visit to China since 2005. But she was late by comparison. In December last year, British Prime Minister David Cameron, more than 100 business executives in tow, descended on Beijing eager for deals. The gold medal for courting China’s new leadership goes to French President Francois Hollande, who became the first major European leader to pay respects to newly installed Chinese President Xi Jinping in April last year.

The Sino-European lovefest is by no means a one-way street. The latest Chinese charm offensive in Europe was led by President Xi himself. In April of this year, he swung through the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Belgium on a highly publicized state visit and became the first Chinese president to be hosted by the European Union at its headquarters in Brussels. In June, China’s number two, Premier Li Keqiang, was in Britain (where he was given an audience with the Queen, an unusual gesture that broke British royal protocol because Li was not a head of state).

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