China's courtship of European powers hits Russian wall

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, The New York Times reports.

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.”

After meeting with Mr Wang in Moscow on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin’s top security aide said Russia backed China on a range of issues.

As Europe and the United States, again, pressure Beijing not to aid Russia’s war, China has few options for responding. Even as it privately tries to soothe concerns, in public it has sought to look firm.

China’s fiery rhetoric defending its ties with Russia will do little to reassure European officials. China has parroted Russian talking points in the past about how the expansion of NATO warranted the invasion of Ukraine.

After nearly two years of frosty relations marked by sanctions, the collapse of a major investment deal and a gruelling war in Ukraine, European leaders were hoping to hear China moderate its tone and demonstrate a willingness to create more distance between itself and Moscow, analysts said.

Instead, Mr Wang arrived at a security conference in Munich, and sharply ramped up a war of words with the United States over a spy balloon incident, describing Washington’s response as “absurd and hysterical.” Mr Wang also declined to rule out a military confrontation over Taiwan — the self-governing island that Beijing claims as its territory.

“China’s charm offensive with Europe hit a wall in Munich,” said Noah Barkin, a specialist on Chinese-European relations from the Rhodium Group, a research consultancy.

His wider strategy, analysts said, was designed to appeal to Europe’s sense of autonomy. The aim was to depict the United States’ efforts to impose restrictions on trade with China and rally military support for Ukraine’s defence as dragging the region toward a new cold war.

Europe has resisted moving in lockstep with the United States, declining to blacklist Chinese companies on national security grounds. Huawei, for example, still has a large presence in Germany’s telecommunications market. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, speaking at an economic forum in January, said Europe needs to focus on “de-risking, rather than decoupling” with China.

Analysts say China was likely hoping to win support from Europe’s business community — which has been clamouring to re-enter the Chinese market — and tap into fears about the direction of the conflict in Ukraine, which will mark its first anniversary on Friday.