CCP aims to divide the EU, report on Xi visit says

Beijing hopes being friendly toward France will help China-EU relations, although Xi’s visit would not affect the EU’s derisking policies as a whole, the report said

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is attempting to sow division among EU states and sour EU-US relations, with the added aim of impeding the EU’s support for Taiwan, a National Security Bureau report says.

The report discusses Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Europe from Sunday last week through Friday. It was delivered to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee ahead of a meeting tomorrow at which the bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are slated to present and answer questions about it.

The bureau’s report says Xi was taking advantage of French President Emanuel Macron’s statement last year that Europe must resist pressure to become the US’ “vassal,” as well as Germany’s significant emphasis on its trade benefits in China.

China hopes making friendly overtures toward France will help stabilize China-EU relations and bring the EU on its side against the US, the report says.

Xi is building better relations with the heads of state in Serbia and Hungary, hoping other countries in Europe will also join its Belt and Road Initiative and support China, it says.

This would contribute to efforts that would affect the EU’s solidarity regarding policies toward China and create rifts within the EU, it says.

The report cites Xi as saying that China intends to build a community with Serbia that would have a shared future.

By befriending Hungary, known for disagreeing with the policies of the EU, NATO and other central European states, China has shown that it aims to encourage anti-US sentiment in east and central European countries, the report says.

Xi’s visit would not affect the EU’s derisking policies as a whole, but some EU members might change their national policies on derisking, it says.

A number of EU countries are holding elections this year, while the European Parliament is holding elections early next month and the UK, Belgium and Lithuania are having parliamentary elections.

Beijing could use this to obstruct European countries’ parliamentary diplomacy with Taiwan, the report says.

While Xi’s visit would not affect EU-Taiwan relations in general, China’s overtures toward Serbia, Hungary and other pro-China countries could be a move toward fostering a greater “one China” coalition of nations, it says.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Friday departed from Budapest, completing his first European tour since 2019, which also took him to France and Serbia.

His official plane took off shortly after 6pm from the capital’s airport, images broadcast by state television channel M1 showed.

Xi started his tour on Sunday last week in Paris, where he was welcomed with pomp, but also had to deal with uncomfortable questions about the Ukraine war and global trade rules.

Later in Belgrade and Budapest, lavish spectacles and praise awaited him.

TIBETAN FLAGS

During his three-day visit to Hungary, the Central European country’s capital was decked out with Chinese flags and placed under tight security.

The few Tibetan flags held up by demonstrators were hidden from Xi’s sight and most local and international media were not allowed to attend events on his itinerary. Even his schedule was not officially published.

Xi held multiple meetings with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a nationalist who is frequently at loggerheads with Brussels.

On Thursday, he called on his closest EU partner to “play a bigger role” in fostering relations between Beijing and the bloc.

NEW DEALS

Amid disagreements with the West, both leaders stressed their shared views and demonstrated their close ties, announcing that 18 bilateral agreements had been signed.

Several new joint projects were announced, including the construction of rail infrastructure, the establishment of a new fast border crossing and possible oil pipeline between Hungary and Serbia, and cooperation in the nuclear sector.

On Friday, Xi and Orban visited Hungary’s largest building, the 143m-high headquarters of local oil company MOL Group.

“Hungarian-Chinese relations reached unprecedented heights,” Orban wrote on Facebook, while sharing photographs of the visit.