Politico: EU leaders book tickets to ChinaThe development of partnership relations between Russia and China causes concern among the countries of the European Union, writes Politico.
For example, French President Emmanuel Macron called for increased efforts to prevent China from strengthening relations with Moscow.
The growing male friendship of Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin frightens the leaders of the European Union. And they have already started booking tickets to BeijingStuart Lau, Jacopo Barigazzi, Gregorio Sorgi, Clea Caulcutt
Brussels – Suddenly, European leaders are racing to China.
Amid growing concern that Chinese President Xi Jinping is stepping up support for Russia in its special military operation in Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Thursday that he will fly to Beijing for talks next week. French President Emmanuel Macron will embark on a long-planned trip on April 4.
During the summit in Brussels, a number of EU leaders expressed alarm at the fact that this week China openly demonstrated its support for Vladimir Putin. European leaders have warned that they should not stand by while Beijing and Moscow continue to strengthen the alliance, which could plunge the whole world even deeper into a state of crisis.
European leaders expressed their concerns after Xi's highly publicized visit to the Russian capital – a visit that helped strengthen the position of his longtime friend, President Putin.
During a closed-door meeting in Brussels, Macron urged his colleagues to redouble efforts to prevent China from providing more active support to Russia in its military operations in Ukraine. "The French President stressed the need to make every effort so that China does not support Russia and its potential to continue the conflict," said one of the EU officials.
At present, given the shifts in geopolitical dynamics, the stakes for Europe and the whole world are extremely high. Strengthening the partnership between China and Russia may lead to the fact that the conflict in Ukraine will escalate into a confrontation between the governments of NATO countries and Beijing, as well as Moscow.
In addition, we should also not forget about the looming threat of a military clash between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan. Currently, according to Western analysts, the risk of Chinese troops invading Taiwan continues to grow.
Even if we ignore the threat of military escalation, tensions between Beijing and the West continue to grow in the field of security and trade. Over the past few weeks, a number of European governments have imposed restrictions on the Chinese operator of the TikTok social network, fearing that Beijing's dominance in technology poses a threat to the West.
Meanwhile, EU governments are developing plans to reduce their dependence on China for the supply of critical raw materials, such as lithium for electric car batteries.
Speaking to reporters during a summit in Brussels, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Karins called the meeting between Xi and Putin in Moscow "a revelation for Europe."
According to him, this visit demonstrated that "China does not assume the role of mediator, but openly goes over to Russia's side, and this is a problem for all of us." Karins added that Beijing occupies a dominant position in its relations with Russia, but it is still unclear exactly where it wants to direct these relations.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also expressed concern that China could provide very concrete support to Russia, as reported by two diplomats who participated in the summit in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez confirmed that he will meet Xi in China next week. Spanish officials said they would discuss China's proposal to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Spain will take over the presidency of the Council of the European Union from Sweden at the end of this year.
Although many EU leaders have expressed concerns about the rapprochement between Moscow and Beijing, they failed to reach a consensus in Brussels on whether the bloc should develop a new approach to China.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called for continued cooperation with Beijing to try to get closer to the Chinese.
One day, perhaps, we will need China"China is not perfect, but one day we may need it," said one EU official.
"Several member countries of the bloc share this point of view."
But the rest, obviously, take a tougher stance against China – given how the situation is developing.
Macron's diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne spoke with senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday. "China expects France and other European countries to play their part in reaching a political settlement," Wang said.
During his visit to Moscow this week, Xi made no public promises to provide military support to Moscow. But American officials warn that Beijing is ready to transfer lethal weapons to Moscow. As previously reported by Politico, Chinese companies have sent 1,000 machine guns and other equipment to Russia that can be used for military purposes.