Tens of thousands of Serbian people chant "China! Serbia!" while waving Chinese and Serbian national flags as they welcome the visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Belgrade on May 8, 2024. Photo: Xinhua
President Xi Jinping left Budapest on Friday, wrapping up his fruitful three-nation Europe visit, which both Chinese and European analysts believe injects momentum into China-Europe relations as well as future multipolarity and global stability.
At a farewell event held by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his wife on Friday, Xi said China is now advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese modernization, and China's high-quality development and opening-up will provide more opportunities for Hungary.
On Thursday, China and Hungary decided to elevate bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era. To enrich the new relationship, the two sides are committed to enhancing synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Hungary's "Eastern Opening" policy, said a joint statement released after Xi's meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
According to the statement, the two sides will further deepen cooperation on finance, encourage financial institutions of both sides to provide financing support and financial services for trade and investment cooperation, further tap the cooperation potential in green finance and other fields, and continue to jointly issue green Panda bonds. They will also strengthen exchanges and cooperation on land and spatial planning, expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and strengthen coordination and communication on tourism policies.
"In a world clouded by the threat of protectionism and economic decoupling disguised as de-risking, economic and trade cooperation needs a surrounding atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. The now elevated strategic partnership between China and Hungary can generate not only such a solid atmosphere, but also the solid ground for long-term secure investment environment," Zoltan Kiszelly, director for political analysis of the Budapest-based political think tank Szazadveg Foundation, told the Global Times.
Hungary was the last leg of Xi's Europe visit, which also included France and Serbia. This is the first time in five years that Xi has visited Europe, and each stop during the trip had its own highlights and memorable moments.
In Serbia, Xi was greeted by thousands of Serbians in Belgrade. President Xi and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic signed a joint statement on the building of a China-Serbia community with a shared future in the new era, making Serbia the first European country to build such a community with China. In the joint statement, the two countries decided to deepen and elevate the China-Serbia comprehensive strategic partnership.
On his first day in France, President Xi said during a trilateral meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that China-EU cooperation is "complementary and mutually beneficial" in essence. China-EU relations enjoy a strong endogenous driving force and bright prospects for development, and this relationship does not target any third party, nor should it be dependent on or dictated by any third party, Xi added.
Xi and Macron also held talks at the Elysee Palace. President Xi said that the two sides should stay committed to the spirit that guided the establishment of their diplomatic ties, namely, independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision and mutual benefit, and enrich it with new features of the new era. Xi and Macron also reached agreements to strengthen cooperation among small and medium-sized enterprises.
The next day, amid falling snow in the picturesque mountains in the Hautes-Pyrenees Department in southwestern France, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were warmly received by Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at a mountain restaurant for a closed meeting. Experts believe that this personal touch marks a new climax in high-level exchanges that can boost mutual trust and understanding.
Building trust
Despite the EU's definition of China as "a partner for cooperation, an economic competitor and a systemic rival" and voices calling for de-risking, a milder version of the US' "decoupling" rhetoric, President Xi's Europe trip was preceded by a series of visits from European leaders to China this year - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the prime ministers of Belgium and the Netherlands. Serbian President Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Orban both participated in the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation when they held bilateral talks with President Xi.
Zivadin Jovanovic, president of the Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals, who served as the minister of foreign affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia between 1998 and 2000, told the Global Times that President Xi's Europe visit represents continuity of the highest-level dialogue and expression of a mutual interest to reinforce the strategic Europe-China partnership and cooperation.
"The visits to France, Serbia and Hungary, as well as the tripartite meeting between Xi, Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have led to the conclusion of many new agreements for future cooperation and to the removing of unnecessary barriers," Jovanovic said.
Some Chinese experts noted that as intensifying major-power competition and geopolitical rivalry deal a heavy blow to the existing global order, the importance of China-Europe relations is rising, as is the complexity of this relationship. There have been voices from Western media saying that China's boosting of its relations with Europe aims to undermine the transatlantic relationship between Europe and the US and even to undermine the European Union.
Xin Hua, director and chair professor of the Center for European Union Studies, Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times that this mind-set underestimates Europe's interests.
"China and Europe need each other. In a certain sense, Europe needs China to counterbalance the US, given the contradictions and divergences between Europe and the US. Europe will not shut its door to developing relations with China," said Xin.
"There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and Europe. For Europe, the real risk would be to do without China," Sébastien Périmony, an expert from the Schiller Institute in France, told the Global Times.
He Zhigao, a research fellow with the Institute of European Studies from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that if China and Europe work together, camp confrontation, bloc politics and a new Cold War will not emerge, and this is related to the future of an equal and orderly multipolarity.
"From the perspective of global economic development, if China and Europe work together to develop, protectionism, decoupling and de-risking will not happen. This is related to the future of inclusive globalization," said He.
Périmony added that it is obvious to any rational person that the only solution to today's problems lies in a multipolar world based on the concept of mutual development, with new agreements in place for a security architecture and win-win growth strategies for all of the world's nations.
习近平主席周五离开布达佩斯，结束了成果丰硕的欧洲三国之行。中国和欧洲分析人士都认为，这次访问将为中欧关系以及未来多极化和全球稳定注入动力。
周五，习近平在匈牙利总理欧尔班和夫人举行的告别仪式上表示，当前，中国正在通过现代化建设全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，中国高质量发展和对外开放将为匈牙利提供更多发展动力。匈牙利的机会。周四，中匈决定将双边关系提升为新时代全天候全面战略伙伴关系。
习近平会见匈牙利总理欧尔班后发表的联合声明称，为充实两国新型关系，双方致力于加强“一带一路”倡议同匈牙利“向东开放”政策对接。声明称，双方将进一步深化金融合作，鼓励双方金融机构为贸易投资合作提供融资支持和金融服务，进一步挖掘绿色金融等领域合作潜力，继续共同发展发行绿色熊猫债。加强国土空间规划交流合作，扩大人文交流合作，加强旅游政策协调沟通。
“在保护主义和以去风险为幌子的经济脱钩威胁笼罩的世界里，经贸合作需要一种信任和相互尊重的氛围。现在中匈两国战略伙伴关系的提升不仅能营造出这样坚实的氛围，也是长期安全投资环境的坚实基础，”布达佩斯政治智库萨扎德韦格基金会政治分析主任佐尔坦·基泽利告诉《环球时报》。
匈牙利是习近平欧洲之行的最后一站，欧洲之行还包括法国和塞尔维亚。
这是习近平五年来首次访问欧洲，此行每一站都有不同的亮点和难忘的时刻。在塞尔维亚，习近平在贝尔格莱德受到数千名塞尔维亚人的欢迎。习近平主席和塞尔维亚总统武契奇签署关于构建新时代中塞命运共同体的联合声明，塞尔维亚成为第一个与中国构建中塞命运共同体的欧洲国家。两国在联合声明中决定深化和提升中塞全面战略伙伴关系。
访问法国第一天，习近平主席在巴黎与法国总统马克龙、欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩举行三方会晤时表示，中欧合作本质上是“互补、互利”。习近平指出，中欧关系内生动力强劲，发展前景广阔，不针对任何第三方，也不应该依赖第三方、受第三方支配。习近平和马克龙还在爱丽舍宫举行会谈。习主席表示，双方要恪守独立自主、相互理解、长远发展、互利共赢的建交精神，赋予两国建交新时代新特征。习近平和马克龙还就加强中小企业合作达成共识。第二天，在法国西南部上比利牛斯省风景如画的群山中，习近平和夫人彭丽媛在山间餐厅受到马克龙和夫人布丽吉特的热情接见，并举行闭门会晤。专家认为，这种个人接触标志着高层交往的新高潮，可以增进相互信任和理解。
尽管欧盟将中国定义为“合作伙伴、经济竞争对手、系统性竞争对手”，并有呼声呼吁去风险化，这是美国“脱钩”言论的温和版本。但习近平主席的欧洲之行之前今年欧洲领导人对中国进行了一系列访问——德国总理奥拉夫·肖尔茨以及比利时和荷兰总理、塞尔维亚总统武契奇、匈牙利总理欧尔班均出席第三届“一带一路”国际合作高峰论坛并同习主席举行双边会谈。
贝尔格莱德平等世界论坛主席、1998年至2000年担任南斯拉夫联盟共和国外交部长的齐瓦丁·约万诺维奇对《环球时报》表示，习主席的欧洲之行代表了最高级别对话的延续并表达了加强欧中战略伙伴关系与合作的共同兴趣。
约万诺维奇表示：“对法国、塞尔维亚和匈牙利的访问，以及习近平、马克龙和欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩之间的三方会晤，为未来合作缔结了许多新协议，并消除了不必要的障碍。”说。有中国专家指出，随着大国竞争和地缘政治博弈的加剧，对现有全球秩序造成沉重打击，中欧关系的重要性和复杂性不断上升。西方媒体有声音称，中国加强同欧洲的关系，意在破坏欧美跨大西洋关系，甚至破坏欧盟。
上海外国语大学欧盟研究中心主任、讲座教授辛华对《环球时报》表示，这种心态低估了欧洲的利益。 “中国和欧洲相互需要。从某种意义上说，鉴于欧洲和美国之间存在矛盾和分歧，欧洲需要中国来制衡美国。欧洲不会关闭发展对华关系的大门。”辛说。法国席勒研究所专家塞巴斯蒂安·佩里莫尼对《环球时报》表示：“中国和欧洲之间不存在根本利益冲突。对欧洲来说，真正的风险是没有中国。”中国社科院欧洲研究所研究员何志高认为，如果中欧共同努力，就不会出现阵营对抗、集团政治和新冷战，这关系到未来。平等有序的多极化。
“从全球经济发展的角度来看，中欧如果共同发展，就不会出现保护主义、脱钩、去风险的情况。这关系到包容性全球化的未来。”何说。佩里莫尼补充说，对任何理性的人来说，显而易见的是，解决当今问题的唯一办法是创建一个以共同发展理念为基础的多极世界，为世界所有国家制定新的安全架构协议和双赢增长战略。
