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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are each expected to visit Beijing in November
Published: 12:00pm, 22 Sep, 2022
Chinese envoys have embarked on a diplomatic flurry to lay the groundwork for likely visits to Beijing by leaders of Germany and France later this year.
China’s former ambassador to Germany, Shi Mingde, was in Berlin last week to work out the details of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first state visit to Beijing in November, where he will meet President Xi Jinping, a source familiar with the situation said.
And amid speculation that French President Emmanuel Macron will make a separate trip to visit Xi – also in November – French and Chinese diplomats have engaged in a series of meetings online and in person.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his French counterpart Catherine Colonna at the United Nations in New York on Monday, having already spoken with Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne last week.
The South China Morning Post reported in July that China had invited Macron and Scholz, along with the leaders of Italy and Spain.
Noah Barkin, the managing editor of Rhodium Group, first reported the visits on his Twitter page, saying they will take place a week apart.
Having previously dismissed the invitations as “fake news”, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday: “At present, I don’t have information to share about this.”
Neither Paris nor Berlin would confirm the trips, with both saying that overseas trips are usually announced a week in advance.
Should the trips take place, they would mark a return to China for Western European leaders after three years of Covid-enforced absence. Macron and Scholz would also be among the first leaders to visit Xi after he is expected to secure a third five-year term as party chief at the Communist Party’s congress in October.
www.scmp.com
Chinese envoys help plan likely visits to Beijing by French and German leaders
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are each expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in separate November trips
- The trips would be the first in three years by European leaders to China after three years of Covid-enforced absence
Published: 12:00pm, 22 Sep, 2022
Chinese envoys have embarked on a diplomatic flurry to lay the groundwork for likely visits to Beijing by leaders of Germany and France later this year.
China’s former ambassador to Germany, Shi Mingde, was in Berlin last week to work out the details of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first state visit to Beijing in November, where he will meet President Xi Jinping, a source familiar with the situation said.
And amid speculation that French President Emmanuel Macron will make a separate trip to visit Xi – also in November – French and Chinese diplomats have engaged in a series of meetings online and in person.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his French counterpart Catherine Colonna at the United Nations in New York on Monday, having already spoken with Macron’s diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne last week.
The South China Morning Post reported in July that China had invited Macron and Scholz, along with the leaders of Italy and Spain.
Noah Barkin, the managing editor of Rhodium Group, first reported the visits on his Twitter page, saying they will take place a week apart.
Having previously dismissed the invitations as “fake news”, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday: “At present, I don’t have information to share about this.”
Neither Paris nor Berlin would confirm the trips, with both saying that overseas trips are usually announced a week in advance.
Should the trips take place, they would mark a return to China for Western European leaders after three years of Covid-enforced absence. Macron and Scholz would also be among the first leaders to visit Xi after he is expected to secure a third five-year term as party chief at the Communist Party’s congress in October.
Chinese envoys help plan likely visits to Beijing by French and German leaders
Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron are expected to meet Xi Jinping in November, the first such visit by European leaders since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
www.scmp.com
