Next China: Dear Friends

Hello, this is Colum Murphy in Beijing.

President Xi Jinping just held the nation’s biggest diplomatic event in years. So why was the VIP guest list so small?

This week’s Belt and Road Forum in Beijing celebrated the 10th anniversary of Xi’s signature infrastructure “project of the century” that he originally envisioned as one that would connect Asia, Africa and Europe through a network of railroads and trade deals.

While plenty of Xi’s friends in Asia and Africa turned out for the conference, Europe was all but absent. Only one EU nation — Hungary — sent its leader to this year’s Belt and Road event, compared to seven in 2019 when it was last held. Italy, the sole Group of Seven member of the investment pact, has told China it plans to drop out entirely.