Next China: Charm Offensive
Chinese President Xi Jinping may not have gotten a total endorsement of his Ukraine peace proposal from his French counterpart this week, but he walked away with a pretty decent consolation prize.
“I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to reason and everybody to the negotiation table,” French President Emmanuel Macron told Xi during a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, saying the Chinese leader could bring all sides together to discuss a way to end the Russian invasion.
The French president’s visit bolstered Xi’s diplomatic bonafides at a time when the Chinese leader is trying to build alliances and buffer his country against increasingly aggressive moves by the US to contain China’s technological advances.
Xi made clear when he began his third term as president last month that the world’s second-largest economy would go all-out trying to match or beat the US in the technology sphere, despite Washington’s efforts at “containment” through sanctions and other restrictions.
He can’t do that alone, though, hence the recent charm offensive. Along with meeting Macron — a visit French officials said was prepared in a smoother and friendlier way than previous ones — Xi also hosted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, underscoring the importance Beijing must place in mending ties with key US allies to avoid isolation on the world stage.
Playing nice with Europe has its advantages. Macron has already added credibility to Xi’s peace push in Ukraine, a proposal that just weeks ago had been derided in the US and Europe as a nonstarter given it freezes Russia's territorial gains.
The French president during his visit also said “we mustn’t decouple with China,” differing from Washington’s tougher approach. He brought along with him to China a delegation of French corporate executives — including from Airbus, which announced on Thursday it would double production capacity in China of its top-selling jet. That may help shore up China-France trade ties, which have been flagging.