Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi to visit Greece and Spain this week

Back-to-back European visits by two Chinese foreign policy officials signal Beijing’s urgency to prevent further rebalancing in favour of the US, say analysts

The Chinese foreign ministry announced Yang’s trip, which also includes a stop in Myanmar

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Yang Jiechi’s main portfolio involves handling Sino-US relations, a theme that is expected to reverberate on his European trip. Photo: Yonhap via AP

Published: 1:13am, 1 Sep 2020Updated: 9:41am, 1 Sep 2020

Top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi will visit Greece and Spain this week, as part of an unusual arrangement of back-to-back European visits by two high-level Chinese foreign policy officials.

Analysts say this signals Beijing’s urgency to prevent further European strategic rebalancing in favour of the US, but neither European country would favour Beijing at the expense of Brussels or Washington. Both Spain and Greece are facing increasing pressure to take sides between their security alliance with the US and vast business interest with China.

President Xi Jinping made state visits to both countries in the last two years, with Yang present on both occasions. This time, however, Yang will be visiting a Europe that has turned much more wary of Beijing after the coronavirus pandemic.

The Chinese foreign ministry on Monday announced Yang’s trip, which also includes a stop in Myanmar, confirming a report by the South China Morning Post.

French President Emmanuel Macron (right) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Elysee Palace in Paris last week. Photo: Xinhua

Yang, a member of the Politburo, is widely considered the highest-ranking diplomat within the Chinese Communist Party.

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