Heading East, Macron, Von der Leyen to make significant visit to China

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Apr 2023 08:30
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The European leaders will meet with the Chinese President to discuss Ukraine and bilateral trade and economic interests.

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during a press conference in Beijing, China, January 9, 2018. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit China on Wednesday where he intends to discuss with Chinese President Xi Jinping the situation in Ukraine and bilateral trade ties between the EU and Beijing, AFP reported on Tuesday.

According to an official from Macron's office who wished to remain anonymous, the French leader hopes to talk Beijing into playing an active role to end the war in Ukraine.

Macron also intends to talk Xi out of assisting Russia in the conflict, as per the official.

"China is the only country in the world capable of having an immediate and radical impact on the conflict, in one direction or the other," the official said.

The French President will discuss the matter with the Chinese leader but will resort to "another path" than the confrontational position that the US holds concerning Beijing.

A delegation of 60 businessmen will also accompany Macron on his official trip, including the chiefs of Airbus and EDF.

Maintaining trade ties between the EU and China is also on Macron's agenda, in addition to preserving France's interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will also be joining the French President on his China visit, indicating that the trip will also have an impact on the entire EU member states.

According to AFP, she met with Macron on Monday to discuss the trip's program.

'Decoupling China unviable'

Last week, Von der Leyen warned China that its approach to the Ukraine war would determine ties but said Europe was not looking to break away from Beijing.

"We have to be frank on this point. How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward," she said then.

However, the EU commission chief said it "is neither viable -- nor in Europe's interest -- to decouple from China," adding, "We do not want to cut economic, societal, political and scientific ties," but it is important to "rebalance" the trade between the two parties "on the basis of transparency, predictability and reciprocity."

Circumvention US pressure

An expert on China said the EU will not be able to hold Xi back from assisting Russia, the report continued.

"Saying nicely what he [Xi] shouldn't do," will not hold him back, Antoine Bondaz, fellow researcher at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), said, adding that the EU envoy will probably warn the Chinese leader in public while expressing fear of US sanctions in private.

"We can see there is this desire to re-establish contacts and above all to weigh in as the EU," Valerie Niquet from FRS told AFP.

The purpose is to "strike up normal relations again," Niquet added.

She considered that Beijing could benefit from going back to "business as usual" with Europe.

"China is interested in the EU for two reasons: in terms of economics, it's an essential market."

"And it could eventually be a way of circumventing American pressure at various levels, and driving a wedge into any sort of Western unity against China."

'Little brother'

"The way China positions itself on the war in Ukraine is a disappointment for Europe," a European diplomat in Beijing told AFP.

However, the diplomat considered it unlikely that Beijing would change its position as it sees the EU as "the United States' little brother."

But resuming meetings between the two parties is a positive development, she added.

Joerg Wuttke, the head of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, considered that the Chinese-European trade balance is in a bad state.

"Our sales are miserable," Wuttke told AFP.

"Last year, we only shipped 1.6 million containers to China, exports went down dramatically -- and China has been incredibly successful, shipping 6.4 million containers into Europe."

European investments in the Asian giant fell by around 50%, except for Germany which poured large investments into producing electric vehicles in China in recent years.

The European diplomat believed that Beijing will bring up Europe's Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China, which was long stalled by the EU and was later halted due to human rights allegations against the Asian giant, in addition to sanctions.

"Chinese companies have a strong interest to invest in Europe, that's why China is pushing again for the ratification of the investment agreement," Wuttke added.

But the "geopolitical conditions have changed so much since the conclusion of the negotiations in 2020, so there is no chance of progress on that point," he said.

Regional player

The Asia-Pacific has turned into "the nerve center of the planet," and this is due to its huge population and vast resources, considered Cedric Perrin, a French senate who took part in writing a report on the region.

Paris aims that its economic zone in the region and its 7,000 deployed forces will offer it a key role on the international stage amid rising global tensions.

According to Perrin, France must "re-state a strong and realistic position towards China, especially regarding the need to respect international law" if it wants to be considered a serious regional player.