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Back in Business: Why European Leaders Are Making a Beeline For China? | Latest News in USA 2023
Back in Business: Why European Leaders Are Making a Beeline For China? | Latest News in USA 2023
4 minute read
So one US ally is buying Russian oil. Another is visiting China. We're talking about French President Emmanuel Macron. He's going to China. With him will be European Commission President ursula von De Leon. They're scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday. And Macro is taking a delegation of French business leaders with him, much like German Chancellor Olaf Schulz did last year. He visited China. Now the French president and the EU chief are going. The trend is quite clear. With zero COVID gone, europe is looking to get back in business with Beijing. It may seem a bit hypocritical because every other week, europe chastises China for supporting Russia.
They keep needling China over its oil purchases from Russia. They keep complaining about China helping Russia bypass Western sanctions. And yet, when it comes down to it, european business interests trump Ukrainian lives, it seems. Let me show you the numbers. In 2020, China overtook the US as the EU's top trade partner.
Bilateral trade was $709,000,000,000. This is between China and the EU. In 2020, the year China exported a Pandemic, $709,000,000,000. In 2021, when the Pandemic was still raging, trade went up to $732,000,000,000. And remember, this was despite zero COVID. Between 2019 and 2021, the EU's imports from China went up by 30%. And Europe, too, has been pouring money into China.
Between 2018 and 2021, europe made up 80% of global investment in China. 80?
80%. The volumes are very high. So much so that Europe china trade has been described as too big to fail. Which explains why European leaders go to China all the time, despite domestic and international tensions. Take the case of Macron. He's traveling while his country is rocked by protests because Europe depends on Chinese trade. So when they say tough words slamming China, it means very little. Listen to this.
What the EU chief said about China last week
"Far from being put off by the atrocious and illegal invasion of Ukraine, president Xi is maintaining his no limits friendship with Putin. These escalatory actions point to a China that is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad. This is why it is vitally important that we ensure diplomatic stability and open communication with China. I believe it is neither viable nor in Europe's interest to decouple from China. Our relations are not black or white, and our response cannot be either."
She started by criticizing China, then went on to say that Europe China relations are not black and white, which is all very well and convenient. And now she's heading to China. Reports say the EU chief will take a tough stand with President Xi Jinping. She's supposed to be the bad cop in the meeting, which means Macron will likely play the good cop. Of course. They'll discuss a war in Ukraine and urge China to help. They'll try and pressure Xi Jinping into using his influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin. China is expected to push its twelve point peace plan, the same one that she unveiled in Moscow last month. And the Europeans are expected to reject it because China wants a ceasefire with Russia, retaining the land it has captured. It's a plan that suits Russia and China. But the west is not on board, and for obvious reasons. So Beijing's much wanted peace plan is a dud. Yet Macro says China could be a quote unquote, game changer in the war.
