Good morning, dear reader,
Anyone who goes on an exploration trip as a tourist has to choose and sort out. For visitors to Germany, Berlin is likely to be at the top of the list, Munich is at the top, perhaps there is also a concert in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie or a trip to Neuschwanstein. However, if the newcomer heads straight to Mannheim after arriving in Frankfurt, followed by Osnabrück, questions arise. Of course there is something to see everywhere – but perhaps visitors are more attracted to friends and relatives?
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China’s strongman Xi Jinping has chosen a remarkable travel route. He set off on his first trip to Europe in five years and first stopped at Emmanuel Macron pickled in France. There was a lot to talk about: China’s support for Wladimir Putin and its war, for example. Economic issues will also have been tough behind the scenes. The EU is preparing Punitive tariffs in areas that are viewed with particular interest in Germany.
Cheap electric cars from China are draining German industry. Beijing is kicking the competition out of business with billions in subsidies. Of course, Mr. Xi sees it differently and goes along with it Retaliation threaten if the EU imposes penalties on him. However, the economy in his home is more stuttering than humming. China needs the European markets – but the EU also needs business in China. Whoever blinks first loses.
Today the prominent tourist continues his tour. Such an important man has to set priorities. What’s remarkable is where he doesn’t go: to Berlin for example, even if you govern the most populous and economically strongest nation in the EU. Other European heavyweights cannot be found on the itinerary either. No visit in Rom, no one in Madrid, in der Downing Street in London The doorbell doesn’t ring either. Instead, the leader of the giant Asian empire spends the rest of his European trip in Serbia and in Hungary. Then we go back home. Did he get lost?
The visiting program may seem strange at first glance, so we want to give it an upbeat title. That could be: “Visit to the bridgehead”. Because if a dictator in Europe wants to get his foot in the door, he has come to the right place in these destinations. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself and remind yourself that Viktor Orbán is the Prime Minister of Hungary and not Beijing’s permanent representative in Brussels (in addition to his job as Putin’s ambassador). When it comes to, Chinas Human rights violations In the group of EU heads of government, one man always reliably raises his hand to veto: For Orbán, China is the future and Europe is a legacy, albeit one that can be milked for a while. He gets along brilliantly with his buddy Xi, and it pays off: billions of dollars flow in investments from Beijing to Budapest. Now Orbán is redeeming his loyalty points during Xi’s visit.
The pleasure is mutual. The Chinese electric cars, which are such a thorn in the side of the EU Commission that it wants to impose heavy tariffs on imports, will soon be imported directly into the country without any import fees Hungary produced. What the building of an independent European Battery industry concerns – a key industry for the energy transition – the competition from the Far East has already established itself in the EU: a Chinese company is currently building its own gigafactory in the south of Hungary. The partners are satisfied. Orbán is happy about the windfall, Xi about his back door. Win-Win That’s what it’s called in business language, at least as long as you don’t ask anyone in Berlin or Brussels.
But first the European traveler takes care of the ceremony. In Serbia namely, the commemoration is taking place on the 25th anniversary of an event that almost no one remembers in most of Europe. In China, however, it is known all over the country: When in 1999 Kosovo-Krieg raged and the Nato intervened to prevent massacres of the population, US fighter jets bombed them Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. There were deaths. An oversight in the target planning, NATO officials claimed, but the apology from the West was not heard in Beijing. Riots against American facilities broke out in Chinese cities for days. The patriotic excitement was not inconvenient for the Communist Party at the time. Even today, President Xi likes to rely on nationalistic zeal – especially when things in China don’t go as desired. A few swipes from Xi against the aggressive Americans are to be expected at today’s commemoration.
The incident at that time ultimately benefited Serbia. Because in relation to China it now has that Premium-Status achieved: President Xi has elevated the relationship between the two countries to an “iron friendship”. This is one level below the “friendship without borders” that was exclusively granted to Putin. However, Serbia, whose entire population could fit in a manageable part of Beijing, is excellently served by its place in the ranking. One hand washes the other, even if the hands are so different sizes. Than Coronavirus As the virus spread rapidly and medical protective equipment was no longer available anywhere, Xi rejected Europe but sent doctors and material to Serbia. Back then, on the airfield, Serbia’s president kissed Aleksandar Vučić the Chinese flag in front of cameras. Today he wishes his patron a free ride in his dealings Taiwan, because “Taiwan is China” and therefore Xi can do whatever he wants with the small island. Conquer, for example. Mr. Vučić also thought that Serbia should work with the neighboring small one Kosovo would like to do the same. So Xi and Vučić view their surroundings from a similar perspective.
But just because there is so much iron in the friendship, the busy Mr. Xi doesn’t take the time for the dwarf in the Balkans. Serbia has long offered itself to China as a gateway to Europe, especially as an entry point. Beijing “new Silk Road” winds its way further into Europe from here: For example, with a high-speed railway line that will soon be opened from Belgrade after Budapest and finally Eastern Europe to the Greek port Piraeus will connect. It already belongs to the Chinese.
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