In Paris, the head of Chinese diplomacy should play appeasement

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 25, 2020 in Rome, Italy. Yara Nardi / Reuters

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After Italy, the Netherlands and Norway, Wang Yi is putting down his suitcase this Friday, August 28, in France, a new stop on his European tour before Germany. In Paris, the Chinese foreign minister is due to meet his counterpart, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, as well as President Emmanuel Macron. A charming operation that still takes place on a minefield.

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The repression in Hong Kong, the internment of a million Uyghurs in Xinjiang, or even the responsibilities of China in the coronavirus pandemic: it is not sure that these angry topics are discussed behind the closed doors of the 'Elysee Friday August 28, the day of visit of the head of Chinese diplomacy, Wang Yi.

► See also: 2019 protests in Hong Kong: two opposition elected officials arrested

Wang Yi wants to avoid a united front between Europe and the United States

Unlike Washington, which continues to pin Beijing, Paris has so far kept a low profile, content to ask for the sending of international observers to Xinjiang and to suspend the ratification of an extradition agreement with Hong Kong. France has thus aligned itself with its European partners. As for the Covid-19 pandemic , Wang Yi will not miss this opportunity to once again stress that China is emerging from the health crisis with its head held high, while Europe has not yet seen the end of the tunnel.

Knowing that the image of China in Europe has rarely been so degraded, the Beijing envoy should play appeasement, which will contrast with the aggressive diplomacy of the "  war wolves  " of recent months. Wang Yi needs his European friends if he wants to prevent them from forming a united front with the United States, in particular to exclude telecoms giant Huawei from the new 5G networks.

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  • China
  • France
  • Jean-Yves Le Drian

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