(CN) — Amid a sharp worsening of relations between China and the West, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday began in earnest a divisive European trip where he faced trade and military barbs from European Union leaders but a warm welcome in Serbia and Hungary, two problematic countries for Brussels.
Tensions between China and the European Union have escalated in line with the growing conflict between Beijing and Washington, though European leaders have tried to take a less aggressive approach than their American counterparts.
Xi and his wife arrived in Paris on Sunday evening before the Chinese president — arguably the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong — was welcomed Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron to the Élysée to mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
On Jan. 27, 1964, French President Charles de Gaulle broke with other Western powers and made France the first major power to recognize communist China by opening diplomatic relations.
With this move, de Gaulle sought to forge an independent foreign policy for France during the Cold War. Macron, like French leaders before him, has nurtured a Gaullist instinct too and talked out against being a “vassal” of the United States, but such ambitions have mostly been rhetorical with France constrained by its EU and NATO memberships.
Although Macron and Xi tried to project an aura of friendship, their relationship became strained as Macron sat for trilateral talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and accused Xi of aiding Russia in its war against Ukraine through the delivery of military components and engaging in unfair trade practices to the detriment of EU companies.
Washington has leveled similar, and often identical, accusations against Beijing.
In Washington, anti-China measures have become a bipartisan issue, as seen with the recent U.S. legislation signed by U.S. President Joe Biden to force TikTok's parent company, China-based owner ByteDance, to sell the video-sharing platform or face a ban in the U.S.
In recent months, Brussels has made a trade war with China more likely after it opened anti-dumping probes against Chinese electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. It also accuses Beijing of restricting European medical device makers from gaining fair access to Chinese markets.
The spate of probes began last September when von der Leyen in her State of the Union speech accused China of flooding the EU with heavily subsidized electric cars. Since then, EU officials have complained of China's “overcapacity” in many areas and denounced a growing trade imbalance.
On Monday, Xi denied that China is bending trade rules.
“There is no such thing as a so-called Chinese 'overcapacity problem,’” Xi said in statements.
On April 23, EU authorities even raided a Chinese surveillance company's offices in the Netherlands and Poland as part of probe into Chinese subsidies. It was the first ever such raid related to a probe of illegal foreign government subsidies.
Relations also have been soured by recent arrests ahead of Xi's visit of suspected Chinese spies, including an aide to a European Parliament far-right German politician and others in Germany accused of providing sensitive military information to China's Ministry of State Security.
So far, China's retaliation against the EU's salvos over unfair trade has been mild. In January, it opened an anti-dumping probe against brandy imported from the EU, sparking fears of Chinese tariffs against French cognac makers. But the threat of a trade war is becoming louder.
Macron and von der Leyen also urged Xi to use his influence on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. All sides agreed that they could do more to help end the conflict.
On Tuesday, Macron is slated to accompany Xi to the Tourmalet pass in the Hautes-Pyrénées mountains, where the French president spent childhood holidays visiting his grandmother.
Xi will visit Serbia on Wednesday where he will mark the 25th anniversary of a deadly NATO bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999. Beijing continues to refute NATO's contention that the bombing was an error. The next day, he will visit Budapest and hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
China has developed strong trade ties with both Serbia, a Balkan nation seeking to join the EU, and Hungary, a contentious EU member. Earlier this year, Serbia was offered membership in BRICS, a China-led trade alliance founded by Russia, Brazil, South Africa and India. This year, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates also joined the organization, which seeks to rival and overtake the U.S.-led global trading system.
Xi's choice to visit both countries, which are often antagonistic toward Brussels, was seen as a way he could drive a wedge between European leaders.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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