Beijing’s ties with Moscow behind hardening Polish views on China

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a reminder for EU’s eastern flank that the US remains its guarantor of security

Warsaw’s relationship with Beijing is being seen through the lens of the Ukraine conflict, Polish official says

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Published: 6:00am, 19 Jun 2023Updated: 11:58am, 19 Jun 2023

Last summer, with Russia’s gruelling war in Ukraine shifting the geopolitical sands in Europe, Beijing dispatched a veteran envoy to tour the bloc’s eastern front.

Beijing’s cosy ties with Moscow had soured its image across the region, compounding a situation that had worsened over the Covid-19 pandemic, when the country’s reputation across Europe took a battering.

Huo Yuzhen, a former Chinese ambassador to the Czech Republic and Romania, visited eight countries in three weeks, one flank of a wider diplomatic charm offensive designed to reconnect with Europe after more than two years of absence invoked by China’s zero-Covid policy.

On the last stop, however, she was stonewalled – the Polish foreign ministry deigned not to grant Huo an audience, and she had to make do with meeting lawmakers and think tankers instead.

Mindful of how difficult it can be to see the right people in Beijing, Polish officials wanted to insert some structure and reciprocity into the relationship, according to people familiar with the strategy. Touring envoys can be granted an audience, but only if Warsaw sees some advantage to it.

Huo Yuzhen, special representative for China-CEEC Cooperation, recently made a multi-nation trip to Europe. Photo: Weibo

When the Chinese envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, stopped off in Warsaw on his way back from Kyiv in May, he met deputy foreign minister Wojciech Gerwel. Polish diplomats worked all week to ensure their account of the meeting would come out before Beijing’s, aware that whoever’s version came first would enjoy a bump in media coverage.