Busy week of diplomacy sees EU leaders lining up for China trip
President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United Kingdom prompts European continent leaders to follow suit with a visit to China
European continent leaders are following each other’s steps to China this week, a move pondered by political observers for its subtle timing as it came after President Xi Jinping’s state visit to the United Kingdom pulled China closer to their estranged neighbor.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in China on Thursday for a two-day visit, while French President Francois Hollande has scheduled a trip on Nov 2. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands is already here for a state visit from Oct 25 to 29.
Xi, the first Chinese head to visit London in a decade, wrapped up his packed four-day trip last week that sealed a slew of business deals totaling $61 billion and lifted China-Britain relations to a “golden era”.
Potential beneficiaries include big-name British multinational companies, including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, Rolls-Royce and BP, while what commanded global attention was China’s $9.18 billion investment in the Hinkley Point nuclear project in southwestern England, an agreement seen as Chinese money’s foray into Europe’s infrastructure sector.
Ordinary Chinese, who may think state affairs out-of-reach, could find it easier to relate to the visa policy. Britain will issue a two-year multiple-entry visa in 2016, seen as a remedy to win back big-spending Chinese tourists who often shrug off visa hassles and opt for less restrictive Schengen areas such as France. (Britain is not a signatory party to the Schengen Agreements.)
This seemed to rattle the European Union’s Continental members, who may have found relations with their northern peer dysfunctional as Britain’s future in the 28-member bloc remains uncertain before an in-or-out referendum on membership by late 2017. But Britain appeared to have gotten a head start in befriending the East.
To catch the China ride, Germany and France sent their leaders eastward. At least this is how some media reports decoded their one-after-another travels.
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