Xi Jinping, the leader of BRICS member China, is currently touring Europe. On Monday, he touched down in Paris to spend two days with French President Macron and the leader of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen.
According to Chinese media, the real highlights were the meetings with Serbian President Vucic in Belgrade and Hungary’s leader Orban in Budapest.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the meeting with Macron was to commemorate the 60th anniversary of France becoming the first Western country to recognise the existence of the People’s Republic of China in 1964.
Meanwhile, The Global Times reported that the Chinese leader’s visit to Hungary on Thursday, May 9, coincided with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Budapest and Beijing, 15 years before Paris dared to defy Washington and do the same.
China’s relationship with Serbia is described as ”ironclad” and strategic, and, as Hungary’s Viktor Orban is soon to take over the EU’s rotating presidency, China looks forward to a rapid improvement in relations with the European Union.
Unlike the rest of the member states of the EU, possibly with the exception of Slovakia, Hungary has not been infected by the Russophobia bug raging in Western European capitals.
Sources
- The Guardian: Xi’s European tour: where is Chinese leader going and what are visit’s aims?
- Global Times: Xi, Vucic hold talks, hail evergrowing ironclad friendship
- Global Times: Exclusive: Hungary poised to play a positive role in China-EU relations under its upcoming EU presidency