thegardenisland.com THE GARDEN ISLAND Monday, May 6, 2024 A7 PARIS On his first visit to Europe in five years, Chinese President Xi Jin- ping appears intent on seizing opportunities to loosen the bonds with the United States and forge a world freed of American domi- nance. The Chinese leader has chosen three countries to visit France, Serbia and Hungary that each, to a greater or lesser degree, look askance at postwar ordering of the world, see China as a nec- essary counterweight and are eager to bolster eco- nomic ties. At a time of tensions with much of Europe over embrace of Russia despite the war in Ukraine, its sur- veillance state and its ap- parent espionage activities that led to the recent ar- rest in Germany of four people Xi, who arrived in France on Sunday, wants to demonstrate growing influence on the continent and pursue a pragmatic rapprochement. For Europe, the visit will test its delicate balancing act between China and the United States, and will no doubt be seen in Washing- ton as a none-too-subtle ef- fort by Xi to divide Western allies. Chinese-French rela- tions established a model for the international community of peaceful co-existence and win-win cooperation between coun- tries with different social Xi said in a state- ment issued soon after he arrived in Paris.
He has timed his arrival at his second stop, Serbia, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the deadly NATO bombing of the Chi- nese Embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo war. That mistaken strike on May 7, 1999, for which the White House apologized, killed three Chinese jour- nalists and ignited furious protests around the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Xi, being in Bel- grade is a very economical way to ask if the United States is really serious about international said Janka Oertel, the di- rector of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin, to say, how about NATO overreach as a prob- lem for other The Chinese government has continued to commem- orate the Belgrade bomb- ing, using it as an occasion to denounce what it sees as Western hypocrisy and bullying. United States al- ways views itself as the leader or hegemon of the world, so China is a competitor or adversary that is challenging its hege- said Tu Xinquan, the dean of a trade insti- tute at the University of In- ternational Business and Economics in Beijing.
European Union does not have a hegemonic mind- The official doctrine of the 27-member European Union defines China as partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic If that seems a mouthful, and a perhaps contradic- tory one, it is because the continent is torn between how to balance economic opportunity in China with national security risk, cy- bersecurity risk and eco- nomic risk to various industries. In March, China Foreign ears. Minister Wang Yi told re- porters that for- mula was unworkable. current global said vorite childhood haunt in like driving to a crossing and finding the red, yellow nent French expert on rela- and green lights all on at the same time. How can one drive Now, Xi would like to ease the lights toward green.
To that end, first and tained during a visit to most important stop will be in France, whose presi- no-French declaration of a tainly the most repressive dwarfs that of other Euro- dent, Emmanuel Macron, has often made the Gaullist The French leader point that Europe never be a vassal of the United as he did last month at a speech at the Sorbonne. The French leader in- sists that the survival of the EU depends on and expressed hopes that gic and devel- oping the military resilience to become a lations with Western coun- American power. rope He rejects the in the words of Lu notion of between China and the United States France is one of oldest al- warned that Europe is whose economy was lies but wants to keep his options open. All of this is music to will host a state is trying to bring a third way in the Philippe Le Corre, a promi- the Pyrenees. tions with China.
is trying to walk a fine line between the two main su- Just over a year ago, Ma- placed by a new architec- cron was lavishly enter- China that ended with a Si- strategic partner- echoed the Chinese lexi- con of a world, freed of and tensified, has not come be- the War Now, in anticipation of visit, China has praised Macron has visited both In- ropean tariffs could affect France as a great power their ties always be at between the BRICS group the forefront of re- of developing countries, Shaye, ambassador friends of China, there are, that Macron will try again to France, in Daily. however, serious European to enlist support be- Macron, who recently and will be saved only if it can become measured in dollars, as the dinner for Xi on Monday in 2019. economy is Paris before, in a personal now some 15 percent big- touch, ushering him to a fa- ger. The chemistry between the two men appears to lie made in China benefited essentially in a shared view from unfair subsidies, with Trump in November, with that the postwar order is moribund and must be re- ture that takes account of shifting power. That Xi is almost cer- and authoritarian leader in pean countries.
China ac- recent Chinese history, and counts for at least half of that military threats to Taiwan have in- tween the two leaders. In the past six months, dia and Brazil in a push to their own exports from place France at a fulcrum which includes China, and who will be sworn in for a Western powers. At a time fifth term during Euro- of growing tension be- tween the and Western powers, he sees France as a bridge. From France, Xi will move on to the warm em- brace of Serbia, where and to say, how about NATO overreach as China is the second largest China later this month. trading partner, and Hun- gary, where its prime min- other discussion on ister, Viktor Orban, has backed massive Chinese in- ment, a special adviser and vestment and used his position as a Eu- the Institut Montaigne in ropean Union member to dilute criticism of China.
Both countries bridle at Beyond these two differences with Beijing, roughly the same size, when Xi last visited in cron appears certain to try Last fall, the EU opened an investigation into whether electric vehicles a decision expected by this unpredictable conse- summer. That has caused ten- sions with Beijing and with eign minister, has said, Germany, whose presence long as China and Europe in the Chinese auto market join hands, bloc confronta- annual prof- its. German manufacturers with plants in China fear that any imposition of Eu- China, as well as cause tit- tries Xi has chosen to visit for-tat retaliation. European Union Com- mission President Ursula von der Leyen will join the talks in Paris with Xi. Chan- cellor Olaf Scholz of Ger- many, whose relations with Macron have been strained, dined with the French president in Paris last week.
All this is clearly part of an attempt to forge a united European front. That, however, is always elusive. Anger toward Russia in Europe runs highest in front-line states with Rus- sia, like Poland and the Bal- tic states. They are perhaps the most fiercely attached to the alliance with the United States that Macron wants to offset by building a sovereign Eu- rope. They are also the most wary of China, which has never condemned Rus- war in Ukraine.
Macron, like Scholz during a visit to China last month, believes that Chi- nese leverage in bringing an end to the war in Ukraine is critical. Only LAURA BOUSHNAK THE NEW YORK TIMES Beijing, in the French anal- ysis, can bring real pres- sure to bear on President Vladimir Putin of Russia, pean visit. The issue, as it was last year during visit to Beijing, is that China has shown little or no inclina- tion to do so. Indeed, Xi is scheduled to host Putin in hard to imagine an- Gode- resident senior fellow at Paris, said of the talks be- tween Macron and Xi. dice have been Still, there is little doubt fore a Ukraine peace con- ference in Switzerland in mid-June.
At a deeper level, Ma- to use visit to advance an agenda that guarantees relevance in the coming decades. He is wary of a United States that may reelect for- mer President Donald quences. Wang, the Chinese for- tion will not occur, the world will not fall apart, and a new Cold War will not take For all the fundamental differences in governance between one-party state and Western liberal democracy, the leaders of the three European coun- appear to embrace that Chinese statement. XI SEEKS STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY IN EUROPE Roger Cohen and Chris Buckley THE NEW YORK TIMES A memorial at the site of what was once the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, on March 13, 2021. Prime Minister Benja- min Netanyahu of Israel said Sunday that his Cabi- net had voted to shut down the Israeli opera- tions of Al Jazeera, a Qa- tar-based network that is a major source of news in the Arab world and has of- ten highlighted civilian suffering in the Gaza Strip during war with Hamas.
government under my leadership has de- cided unanimously: The incitement channel Al Ja- zeera will be shut down in Netanyahu said on formerly Twitter. It was not immediately clear whether the closure would be temporary or whether it would affect the reporting in Gaza and the West Bank. Journalism organiza- tions have said that such a closure, which had been under discussion in Israel for weeks, would be a blow to press freedom. communications minister, Shlomo Karhi, said in a video statement that Al Jazeera no longer broadcast here in Israel and its equipment will be In a statement in Arabic, Al Jazeera condemned Is- move, which it called a suppression of the free press to cover up its crimes has not deterred us from performing our the network said. The decision could com- plicate relation- ship with Qatar, which helps fund the network and has also been helping to mediate cease-fire ne- gotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The Qatari government did not imme- diately comment. Netanyahu said in a statement that Al Ja- reporters had and incited violence against its soldiers. He had previously called Al Jazeera a mouth- Israeli lawmakers passed a bill last month al- lowing the government to temporarily close foreign media outlets that Net- anyahu determined were undermining the national security. The order to close Al Ja- local operations will initially apply for 45 days, and a district court judge must approve it within 24 hours before it is carried out, according to Avraham Hasson, an aide to minister of communications. Hasson said the judge could rule to change the length of the closure.
The govern- ment has the option of ex- tending it for another 45 days, but any extension would also need a approval. govern- ment has had a tense rela- tionship for years with Al Jazeera, which has re- ported extensively from Gaza during the war be- tween Israel and Hamas that began in October. The war in Gaza has taken a toll on the net- own employees and their families. In Octo- ber, Wael al-Dahdouh, the Gaza bureau chief of Al Ja- Arabic-language service, was told live on air that his wife, son, daughter and infant grand- son had been killed in cen- tral Gaza, where they had been sheltering. In Janu- ary, his eldest son was killed in an Israeli air- strike, according to au- thorities in Gaza.
Netanyahu calls Al Jazeera an Matthew Mpoke Bigg THE NEW YORK TIMES SAMAR NEW YORK TIMES A memorial for Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist for Al Jazeera, at a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, on May 23, 2022. For Xi, being in Belgrade is a very economical way to ask if the United States is really serious about international law, a problem for other Janka Oertel Director of the Asia program at the European Council on Foreign Relations in Berlin.
