Contrary to Americans, when China is sending someone, they sending the best.
Good work by Wang Yi
Good work by Wang Yi
China courts frazzled Europe as Western alliance wavers
At Munich Summit, top envoy Wang Yi goes on charm offensive as US leaders berate Europe
The world shook this weekend as deep cracks appeared in the transatlantic alliance during a glitzy security summit in Munich. One guest was ready to capitalise: China.
In the margins, Beijing was making hay.
In a diplomatic blitz, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Germany Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his conservative opponent Friedrich Merz, Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, and counterparts from the EU, Germany, Spain, and France. On each occasion, according to foreign ministry readouts, he pitched China as a partner to Europe and a friend of the existing order.
Wang made a more blatant pitch to Europe during a keynote speech on Friday, where - right after Vance - he said talk of “China attempting to change the [global] order” has gone quiet in light of Trump’s return.
“Now we don’t see much talk of that because now there is a country that is withdrawing from international treaties and organisations and I think in Europe, you can feel chills almost every day,” the veteran diplomat said.
While Wang’s language was not new, it resonated in stark contrast with Vance’s. The clear conclusion for many observers was that China sees an opening to improve ties with Europe and, potentially, drive a new wedge in the already fraught transatlantic alliance.
The early signs are that after a stormy few years in the EU-China relationship, some leaders in a Trump-battered Europe might be receptive to Beijing’s advances.
“This is a massive victory for China. It is just amazing what Trump has delivered to them, in less than a month,” said one European diplomat, who was not authorised to speak publicly.
After a bruising first month of Trump’s tenure, the hawkish European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s tone on China has softened significantly. In two notable speeches, she said there was space to deepen trade ties and even “find agreements” with Beijing, in “an era of hyper-competitive and hyper-transactional geopolitics”.
A month after he warned German companies that investing in China “is a decision involving great risk”, Merz - who is favoured to be the next German chancellor - changed his tune in Munich.
“Germany firmly supports free trade and supports deepening cooperation between Germany and China and Europe and China,” Merz told Wang, according to Beijing’s version of events.