Can China play the globalisation card to win ‘trade war’ allies in Europe?
Beijing’s commitment to a rules-based system with the WTO at its core may be key to swaying European opinion on its spat with Washington, analysts say
China’s leaders are busy shoring up relations with the country’s trading partners in Europe and Asiaas the threat of a trade war with the United States looms and Beijing seeks to cement its position as a bastion of globalisation and free trade.
Analysts said on Monday that Beijing faced both support and opposition in Europe and elsewhere, and would have to work hard to secure support from its allies while appeasing its critics.
Over the weekend, Premier Li Keqiang met United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Beijing to discuss making globalisation “more open, inclusive, balanced and mutually beneficial”, Xinhua reported on Monday.
While no direct references were made to the US during the talks, Guterres was quoted as saying that protectionism was “injurious to others and oneself”.
In a sign of China’s apparent keenness to build links in western Europe, President Xi Jinping on Sunday met his Austrian counterpart, President Alexander Van der Bellen.
A joint statement issued after the talks in Beijing said the two leaders had agreed to establish a strategic Sino-Austrian partnership, which they would use to “jointly protect the multilateral trade mechanism and build an open economy”, Xinhua reported.