As China's Xi Jinping visits Europe, Ukraine, trade and investment are likely to top the agenda

FILE- French President Emmanuel Macron, left, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping after meeting the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Xi will start his Europe tour in Paris on May 6-7, 2024, meeting with Macron, who has been stressing the idea of European strategic autonomy from the U.S.

The Chinese leader will arrive in France just as Paris is putting the finishing touches on its preparations for hosting the Summer Olympics, an event in which China invests huge amount of national prestige. “This is a highly strategic visit to Europe by Xi. And in his itinerary you can divine the runes of Chinese policy on Europe now, bolstering the traditional links as far as possible, and reinforcing new ones,” Brown said.in power for 14 years, is facing political challenges from the opposition over his authoritarian style.

Hungary is the first EU member to participate in Xi's signature Belt and Road Initiative that seeks to build billions of dollars of roads, ports, power plants and other infrastructure across Asia, Africa and beyond. China has also invested heavily in infrastructure to link Hungary with its southern neighbor Serbia, Xi's next stop on his European tour.to modernize the railway between their capitals of Budapest and Belgrade, part of a Belt and Road plan to link up with the Chinese-controlled port of Piraeus in Greece, to the south, an entry point for Chinese goods to Central and Eastern Europe.

China claims neutrality in the Ukraine conflict but Xi and Putin declared their governments had a “no limits friendship” before Moscow’s attack on Ukraine. China has refused to call the Russian assault an invasion and has been accused of bolstering Russia’s capacity to produce weapons and its military advantage against Ukraine, which is awaiting tens of billions in Western military aid.

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As China's Xi Jinping visits Europe, Ukraine, trade and investment are likely to top the agendaUkraine, trade and investment are expected to dominate Chinese leader Xi Jinping's first trip to Europe in five years, which starts in France on Monday. Last year, on a visit to Beijing, French President Emmanuel Macron courted controversy by saying France would not necessarily always align with the U.S.
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