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Foreword
China's diplomatic action, in one sentence, is to "precisely make moves" on the European chessboard, which suddenly hit Europe's heart, making the deployment of the United States a little messed up.
According to the official report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from September 12 to 16, the Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Austria, Slovenia and Poland.
At first glance, this is just an ordinary visit, but in the current international situation, it is actually a very clever big chess. ,
China plays good diplomatic cards
First let's take a look at the three countries the Ministry of Foreign Affairs visited.
Austria, Slovenia, and Poland, these three countries are not fringe roles, but are just stuck in the center of Europe.
Austria is a traditional European "crossroads". It is located at the intersection of East and West Europe. It can not only deal with major powers such as Germany and France, but also have natural connections with Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
More importantly, Austria is a permanent neutral country and does not participate in military alliances like NATO, but it is very influential within the EU.
Austria location
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations with China in 1971, China-Austria relations have been relatively stable. This is a rare sample of China-EU relations that has "has not had any major friction".
Moreover, since 2003, China has become Austria's largest trading partner in Asia.
Take 2023 as an example, the bilateral trade volume between China and Austria is approximately US$17 billion, of which China exports machinery and equipment and electronic products to Austria, while Austria exports high-end manufacturing equipment, pharmaceuticals and environmental protection technologies to China.
Austria's technical advantages in automotive parts, high-end machine tools, clean energy and other fields have formed a very good complement to China's market size and industrial supporting facilities.
Port Koper
Slovenia is small, but its location is particularly critical.
It is located at the southern end of Central Europe, close to Italy and Croatia, with both the estuary of the Adriatic Sea and the inland of Eastern Europe.
In 2017, Slovenia and China signed the "Belt and Road" co-construction agreement, and the star project was the Port of Koper.
This port is an important node of the "Belt and Road" in southern Europe. Every year, many Chinese container cargoes come ashore from here and are then transported directly to Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and other countries via railway.
This logistics line saves time and costs for the Central and Eastern European markets, greatly enhancing the region's dependence on China.
Slovenia also has another feature, it is accelerating digital transformation, with the goal of becoming one of Europe's digital technology powerhouses by 2030.
This can be seamlessly connected with China's technical reserves in 5G communications, smart ports, artificial intelligence city management and other fields. In the future, it will not only cooperate in hardware construction, but also connect at the software and digital application levels.
China-Europe Express
Poland is another very important piece. It is China's largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe and is also a key channel for the extension of the "Belt and Road" to the heartland of the EU.
China and Poland's trade volume reached nearly US$37 billion in 2023, and its growth momentum was strong.
The operation of the China-Europe Express directly makes Poland a major hub on the Eurasian continental transportation network.
The China-Europe freight train passes through Poland tens of thousands of times a year. On September 8, the first China-Europe freight train from Warsaw to Zhengzhou began to be tested, which shows that Poland attaches great importance to strengthening the land trade channel with China.
Poland itself is an exporter of agricultural products and machinery manufacturing industries, and China's new energy technology and consumer goods markets are high-potential opportunities for Poland. This complementary relationship is not only a business, but also allows the relationship between the two countries to withstand political storms.
U.S. deployment of chaos
The strategy behind China's choice to visit China and Europe at this point in time is more intriguing.
In recent years, the United States has pursued "America First" and is not ruthless in trade and technology, including Europe, and has even repeatedly forced the EU to exclude China in the high-tech field, such as chips, 5G, artificial intelligence, etc.
At the same time, the United States also used the conflict between Russia and Ukraine to make Europe increase its purchase of US liquefied natural gas, which is at least 30% more expensive than Russia's imports, which puts great pressure on European companies and consumers.
Many EU member states are very dissatisfied with this practice of unilateral sacrifice of their own interests, but due to their dependence on security issues, it is difficult to say "no" to the United States. This gives China's diplomacy a beginning.
Especially in the two areas of energy and digital sovereignty, China and the EU cooperation is the most uncomfortable for the United States.
In terms of energy, China has already occupied a world-leading position in clean energy fields such as photovoltaics, wind energy, energy storage, and electric vehicles. When promoting green transformation, Europe also hopes to reduce its dependence on US technology.
If China and Europe form closer cooperation on green energy, Europe will be able to get rid of US energy binding to a certain extent.
In terms of digital sovereignty, Europe has always had the need to prevent the Internet, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence from being monopolized by American companies, such as the "Data Governance Law" and the "Artificial Intelligence Act" launched by the EU, with the purpose of preventing the United States' data hegemony.
If these areas can be cooperated with China, they will be tangible alternatives.
China and Europe have broad cooperation prospects in clean energy
Of course, this journey is not without risks.
Poland and Slovenia are NATO members, and they will still implement the strategic decisions of NATO and the EU in general.
The United States will continue to put pressure. For example, on September 9, Trump proposed in a call with EU officials to impose 50% to 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, and encourage the EU to take similar measures.
Although the EU has not responded for the time being, this stir will complicate the environment for China-EU energy cooperation.
On the other hand, the EU's overall policy toward China has tended to be cautious or even tightened in recent years, such as proposing "resistance" to promote the return of the industrial chain to the local area. At this time, China must add in China-EU cooperation, and at the same time cleverly resolve potential political constraints.
But we also need to see that it is precisely because of these uncertainties that China's trip seems more strategic.
The United States used to rely on the three lines of security, energy and technology in Europe to stabilize its influence, but when China gradually establishes a stable cooperation network in energy technology, it will be more difficult for the United States to "take a side" on key issues.
In summary, this visit to Austria, Slovenia and Poland is an accurate layout of China's diplomacy.
Geographically choose the strategic focus of Europe, and in time, as the conflict between the United States and Europe heats up, the negotiation content directly hits Europe's pain points in energy, technology and industry transformation.
This is a pragmatic and forward-looking diplomatic action. If it is operated properly, it will help China-Europe relations enter a new stage of stability, deeper and broader. It will be an important help to China, Central and Eastern European countries, and even the entire European strategic autonomy.
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Reference: Official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—Chinese Foreign Minister will visit Austria, Slovenia, Poland
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