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China’s Courtship of European Powers Hits a Russian Wall [1]

['David Pierson']

Date: 2023-02-21

China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, has been on a high-stakes tour of Europe, defending his country’s interests in a clash with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and reaffirming Beijing’s friendship with Russia with a visit to Moscow.

But China is also trying to woo European nations in an urgent bid to revive its economy and to find common ground with some of Washington’s staunchest allies in the region.

Mr. Wang’s travels highlight the conundrum China faces as it tries to enhance its relationship with the European Union, its largest trading partner, without alienating Russia, the only other major power alongside China challenging American global dominance. His trip also has laid bare the constraints of Beijing’s balancing act — serving as Moscow’s strategic lifeline and also professing to be a neutral bystander in a war raging on Western Europe’s doorstep.

Mr. Wang promised the leaders of France and Germany that Beijing wanted to “fully restart exchanges” and increase cooperation on issues like climate change and free trade. He met with his Ukrainian counterpart, pledging to him that “China does not want to see the crisis being prolonged and escalated.”

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/world/asia/china-europe-russia-ukraine.html

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