China’s top diplomat Wang Yi visits Europe first time after taking new office

Asia-Pacific, Europe, News February 17, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

China’s director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi started his week-long trip to Europe on February 16, 2023, from Paris. The top Chinese diplomat is visiting France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and Russia.

This is Wang Yi’s first trip to Europe since taking the role of China’s top diplomat. Previously, he had been serving as China’s foreign minister and was succeeded by Qin Gang following the 20th National Party Conference. Wang was promoted to serve as Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a position previously held by Yang Jiechi.

During his first stop in France, he met with French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the readout released by China’s state-owned media outlet, Wang and Macron exchanged “in-depth views about the Ukraine issue”.

Wang told the French president that China “adheres to an objective and impartial stance on the issue and is committed to promoting peace talks.” The French government readout of the meeting said that both parties “expressed the same objective of contributing to peace in accordance with international law.”

In France, Wang also met with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. During his meeting, he discussed the dynamics of Macron’s expected visit to Beijing which may take place in April this year.

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna wrote on her Twitter that she discussed the necessary recovery of mobility between France and China and the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the means of working to resolve the conflict. Colonna also expressed her desire to “continue to move forward together on climate, biodiversity, and reform of international financing”.

*^{China’s director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. (Image Credit: Twitter/@MinColonna)}*

Wang’s second stop is Germany, where he would participate in a Munich Security Conference. The conference would also be attended by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. There is a possibility that the two diplomats would also meet one-on-one on the sidelines of the conference. This would be the first interaction between the two sides since the U.S. shot down a balloon over the Atlantic Ocean after it completed its trip to the continental U.S. The U.S. side claims that the balloon was a spy balloon sent by China. The incident led Blinken to postpone a planned trip to Beijing.

The final stop of Wang’s trip to Europe would be Moscow on the cusp of the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The trip comes at a time when China is persistently pushing back against Western pressure on trade, technology, human rights, and its territorial claims in the western Pacific. China has taken a neutral stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and refused to impose severe economic sanctions on Russia.

Many observers believe that Wang’s trip to Europe at this crucial time indicates China’s willingness to mend its relations with the west, however, his itinerary suggests that while China may be keen to patch things up with the EU, it has no intention of abandoning Russia.