Berlin, Beijing, Brussels, Paris When it gets dark in Beijing these days, you can often see people crouching in front of small fires on the sidewalks. They burn so-called death money made of colorful incense paper to honor their ancestors. The state leadership would actually like to abolish customs like these. He is backward and does not fit in with the desired socialist modernization of the country.
The regime wants all the more to maintain the partnerships with the West that have brought China far on its way to becoming a genuine industrial country. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected in China on Memorial Day. They will arrive on Wednesday, and a joint meeting with head of state and party leader Xi Jinping is on the agenda for Thursday. Because of the tense relationship with the USA, China is trying to improve relations with European countries.
Will the Europeans agree to this? It is no coincidence that the trip is also being followed very closely in Washington. It is interesting that with von der Leyen and Macron, two top European politicians are arriving, who repeatedly set different accents in China policy. Negotiation experts speak of the “good cop, bad cop” tactic. Macron is the “good cop” and von der Leyen is the “bad cop”. This division of roles could prove to be a smart move – or end in embarrassment.
This much is clear: the Chinese government would like to go back to business as usual as soon as possible and evokes the pragmatic, economic cooperation of the past. China is willing to work with the EU “to prevent decoupling and promote global prosperity,” tweeted Wang Lutong, director-general for European affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
The Chinese leadership speaks of “mutual benefit and win-win situations”. This also means investments and technology transfer to China, without political concerns.
Von der Leyen on the side of the USA
But times have changed. The People’s Republic has become more restrictive, nationalistic and ideological under the rule of Xi Jinping. The state leadership is increasingly exerting its influence beyond the borders of the People’s Republic. Beijing uses economic dependencies as a means of putting pressure on or punishing countries such as Australia and Lithuania.
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Many Western governments are concerned about the military threats towards Taiwan and China’s partnership with Russia, most recently renewed during Xi’s state visit to Moscow in mid-March.
Ursula von der Leyen warned last week in a keynote address on China that “China’s changing policy” could make it necessary “for us to develop new defense instruments for some critical sectors.” The EU must prevent capital and know-how from European companies from contributing to “improving the military and intelligence capabilities of those who are also system competitors”.
Von der Leyen made it clear what role she sees for herself in Beijing: that of the admonisher. Von der Leyen is convinced that the EU will assert itself above all if it coordinates closely with the USA.
The CDU politician sees a global systemic conflict between autocracies and democracies. Even if the interests of the Americans and the Europeans are not identical: von der Leyen is clear that should a conflict arise, the EU would stand by the United States – just as the USA stood by Europe in the Ukraine war .
This strategic orientation is exactly what China wants to prevent. The Chinese ambassador to the EU, Fu Cong, was “disappointed” by von der Leyen’s speech. However, the relatively cautious reaction makes it clear once again how important Beijing is to cooperate with European countries.
Macron travels to China with a large business delegation
In an interview with the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN, Fu even suggested that the critical tones in von der Leyen’s speech did not in fact reflect her own convictions. Rather, the speech shows a “deep-seated ambivalence” of the Leyens towards China.
In fact, the statements by the head of the commission offer scope for cooperation with China. She stressed that much of the EU-China trade remains “mutually beneficial”.
In March, Xi was reconfirmed as China’s strongman at the People’s Congress.
(Photo: IMAGO/Xinhua)
From the Chinese leadership’s point of view, Macron’s visit is even more important for cooperation with Europe. The French President does not believe that a political partnership with China is possible either. But at the same time his government is trying to demarcate America.
France sees Europe as its own shaping factor in a multipolar world, it wants a balance of power between Washington, Brussels and Beijing – and thus offers China’s diplomatic efforts at least a starting point.
>> Also read here: Foreign Minister Baerbock will travel to China in mid-April
While von der Leyen wants to restrict European investments in China, Macron is traveling with a large business delegation: 50 top managers are accompanying him to sign lucrative contracts. Among them are the bosses of Airbus, Alstom and EDF. Even more clearly than Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who took an unusually small business delegation with him on his controversial trip to China last year, Macron is sending the signal that Beijing wants to see: business as usual prevails, in the truest sense of the word.
“In this context, the European Union must find its own position and defend its interests,” said a Macron adviser. The French President sees himself as Europe’s emissary – and has therefore invited EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to accompany him on part of the trip.
In Brussels, it is important that von der Leyen does not want to be seen as an appendage of Macron. Both will try to demonstrate unity – nothing would harm Europe more than a dispute about the China strategy on the open stage.
Von der Leyen and Macron “sometimes appear differently when it comes to China,” explains Mikko Huotari, director of the Berlin China think tank Merics. “In essence, their analyzes and what they want to achieve are similar.” Examples are their approaches to industrial policy, fair competitive conditions and technological integration with China.
In terms of trade relations, Macron wants to push for better market access for European companies, especially when it comes to public procurement in China. At the same time, in the EU, France is pushing for an adjustment of the award rules for public contracts, which would give preference to European companies.
Paris has in mind a “reduction of the strategic dependencies of the EU”. Long before Germany seriously considered banning the Chinese tech champion Huawei from the 5G network, France had already effectively banned the Chinese company’s technology. Von der Leyen shares this approach.
So there are points of contact between Paris and Brussels in China policy. Whether these can also be reconciled in a united appearance will be seen in the next few days.
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