Global Impact | Europe seemingly still split over China after Xi Jinping’s whistle stop tour does little to tip the scales

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Chinese President Xi Jinping did not need to travel all the way to Europe to know the continent is not united on how best to deal with Beijing. But as the dust settles on his first trip to European turf for five years, observers have noted that the dividing lines are clearer than ever.

First came the tricky bit. In Paris, Xi was greeted by President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission boss Ursula von der Leyen, Brussels’ chief China hawk, who was asked to join by the French leader.

Macron has been a strong sponsor of the tough line the commission has taken on China’s trade practices. It was he who sponsored a blockbuster investigation into subsidies for the Chinese electric vehicle sector that has become emblematic of worsening ties. The results of the probe are imminent and expected to hit all EVs made in China with additional import duties of around 20 per cent.

During a trilateral meeting, the pair grilled him on Beijing’s economic model, asking tough questions from the European perspective that its industrial overcapacity is causing distortions in the single market. They also pressed him on Russia’s relationship with Ukraine, warning full-blown support for Moscow’s military machine would lead to a further worsening of China’s ties with Europe.

Once that was out of the way, Macron and Xi signed 37 bilateral cooperation agreements. Macron toasted Xi in the Pyrenees, presenting him with a yellow Tour de France jersey on top of one of that cycling challenge’s toughest climbs, and attempting to forge a personal bond that might water down Beijing’s retaliation against French industry in an increasingly bitter EU-China trade spat.