China Pours Diplomatic Efforts... Following the Three Diplomats, Li Chang Also Heads to Europe

Li Chang, Premier of the State Council and a close aide to Chinese President Xi Jinping, visited Europe as his first overseas trip since taking office. This comes less than a month after the unusual simultaneous European trips of the three key figures in China's diplomatic circle last month, marking another visit by a top Chinese official to Europe.

According to Bloomberg on the 18th (local time), Premier Li arrived at Berlin Brandenburg Airport in Germany by chartered plane to begin his European tour. During his visit to Germany, Li is scheduled to hold the 7th China-Germany government negotiations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The negotiations between the two governments began in 2010 during then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to China, where an agreement was reached with then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, and have continued for 13 years. This year's talks are expected to focus on the overall bilateral relationship, especially economic and trade issues.

In France, he will attend a high-level global financial meeting. Bloomberg reported that Premier Li is expected to meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the global financial conference held in Paris.

China has been making considerable efforts to improve relations with Europe this year. Premier Li’s choice of Europe as his first overseas destination since assuming office in March appears to be part of this strategy. As the United States excludes China from global supply chains in advanced technology industries such as semiconductors and diplomatically isolates China, China is pursuing a pragmatic strategy to court European countries. This is also why China has been intensifying diplomatic exchanges with European leaders, following the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron in April, to improve relations with Europe.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Qin Gang visited Germany, France, and Norway from the 8th to the 12th of last month. During this period, the European trips of Vice President Han Zheng and Wang Yi, member of the Communist Party Central Political Bureau, overlapped, creating an unusual situation where all three key figures in Chinese diplomacy were simultaneously in Europe.

Bloomberg assessed, "Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China has sided with Russia and is now attempting to repair its damaged relations with Europe," adding, "China aims to pressure European Union (EU) member states not to join U.S. export sanctions against China."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also stated at a regular briefing on the 15th, "Premier Li’s choice of Germany and France as his first overseas destinations after taking office fully demonstrates China’s high regard for its relations with these two countries," adding, "The purpose of this visit is to make new contributions to the healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations."

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China on the 18th. Blinken is the first U.S. Secretary of State in five years to visit China, and there is speculation that he may meet with President Xi on the last day of his visit.

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