Beijing – The differences can be seen everywhere. Emmanuel Macron praises China's position paper on the Ukraine conflict as an interesting "peace plan". Ursula von der Leyen dismisses it as "simply not a viable plan". The EU Commission President warns of economic dependence on China and wants to minimize risks.
France's President wants to expand the business rather. If his plane lands with a lot of pomp at Beijing Airport, von der Leyen prefers to fly straight. And while China's state media pays tribute to Macron's state visit, von der Leyen is barely mentioned.
Macron and von der Leyen in Beijing: talks about the Ukraine war
But both leaders agree that Europe needs to talk to China . Macron had invited the Commission President to take part in his talks with head of state and party leader Xi Jinping on Thursday (April 6). Some have speculated about "good cop, bad cop" split roles. But while this tactic is often seen as promising, China is only showing European disunity again, which it has always known to exploit by playing the actors off against each other.
China arguably views Europe solely through the lens of its geopolitical rivalry with the US. Beijing is also convinced that the Europeans will dance to the tune of the Americans. "That's strange," said a European diplomat. There is "zero understanding" of what the alliance between Europe and the USA means. Beijing has apparently launched a charm offensive to drive a wedge between Europeans and Americans. However, von der Leyen rejected such attempts in Beijing: "The transatlantic ties are strong and have been based on trust and deep friendship for decades."
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