China Busy with Early-Year Diplomatic Efforts... Urgently Seeking Allies to Resolve Complex Situations

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Beijing=Correspondent Sunmi Park] China's diplomatic activities have been moving very rapidly since the beginning of the year. Chinese President Xi Jinping has started the new year by embracing not only Asian allies but also Europe and Africa. This has led to interpretations that China’s impatience is clearly reflected as it faces situations requiring support from allies, such as the US-China trade war, Hong Kong protests, and the Belt and Road Initiative (一帶一路, land and maritime Silk Road economic cooperation).

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 14th, President Xi has designated Myanmar as his first overseas visit of the year and will make a state visit on April 17-18 at the invitation of President Win Myint. Myanmar is a traditional ally with which China has a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and is also a key point in the Belt and Road Initiative.

China is particularly emphasizing that this state visit by President Xi to Myanmar is the first in 19 years. They intend to maximize the significance and achievements of the state visit.

China will primarily strengthen economic cooperation with Myanmar through President Xi’s state visit. It is highly likely that China will request active participation in the Belt and Road projects and seek support on the South China Sea sovereignty issues, where China is in confrontation with the United States. Additionally, since China regards Western countries’ objections to Hong Kong and Taiwan issues as 'interference in internal affairs,' it plans to secure Myanmar’s support for the 'One China' principle and the 'One Country, Two Systems' policy.

President Xi is also attempting to deepen ties with European countries by personally managing relations to overcome challenges such as the trade war and power struggles with the United States.

On this day, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), citing sources, reported that China and the European Union (EU) are expected to hold their annual summit in Beijing at the end of March. The dates proposed by China to EU countries are March 30-31.

Two weeks later, on April 15, President Xi is scheduled to preside over the '17+1' summit in Beijing, an economic cooperation platform with 17 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC). Since its launch in 2012, the summit was chaired by former Premier Wen Jiabao in its first year and then annually by Premier Li Keqiang, but this year it was unusually decided that President Xi would preside, indicating a higher level of importance.

After delivering the keynote speech at the '17+1' summit, President Xi is expected to meet with visiting leaders from various countries to strengthen ties with Europe. The prevailing view is that China is seeking to improve relations with Europe to find a breakthrough amid intensifying competition with the United States. Another meeting with leaders of the 27 EU countries is also scheduled for September in Leipzig, Germany. China plans to finalize the Comprehensive Investment Agreement (CIA) by September or at the latest by the end of the year, so contacts between China and the EU are expected to be much more frequent than in the past.

Africa, traditionally a stronghold of Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, continues to receive focused attention from China. Wang Yi, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister responsible for diplomacy, has maintained the tradition for 30 years of choosing Africa as his first overseas visit of the new year. This year, Wang selected Africa for his first tour, visiting Egypt, Burundi, and Zimbabwe. At a joint press conference with Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister on the 12th, Wang highlighted the long-standing friendship between China and Africa and promised to strengthen cooperation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.