The ten-day foreign tour of the Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, which began on 12 February this year, included visits to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and a trip to Munich, where the 61st annual Security Conference was held.
Once Again, a Brief Word on Europe in the Modern World
It is especially odd to hear such dismissive assessments coming from Russia, a country that is itself part of the highly complex and contradictory political phenomenon that is modern Europe. Meanwhile, the continued significance of Europe in global affairs is taken very seriously by the three leading Asian powers, namely China, India, and Japan.
Each of the aforementioned major Asian players, placing increasing importance on their presence on the European continent, offers its inhabitants (each in their own way) the opportunity to live productively, jointly, and long, rather than to perish in the hope of reaching paradise. This was the message conveyed to Europeans during the Foreign Minister’s visit to the continent. Moreover, Beijing, as well as New Delhi and Tokyo, are fully aware of the challenges they must face here. However, as we have noted, this does not deter all three players from attempting to establish stronger relations with Europeans.
Wang Yi’s Visit to the United Kingdom
The visit by Wang Yi to the UK, which took place during this tour, was a reciprocal visit following that of his British counterpart, David Lammy, who had visited China in October of last year. It is important to note that the current Foreign Minister of the UK arrived in Beijing after a gap of six years, since the last such visit by his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt. Hunt had visited China with the aim of conducting the bilateral Strategic Dialogue (the ninth of its kind).
Just a few months ago, only the most meticulous specialists would have remembered the very existence of this platform in the relationship between China and the UK. By the end of the previous decade, bilateral relations had begun to rapidly degrade. Yet, back in 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron, commenting on the outcome of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UK, had predicted the onset of a “golden age” in bilateral relations.
However, as the global situation began to worsen sharply, the British government found itself a key partner to Washington in conducting various anti-China initiatives. Beijing was blamed for everything: the imposition of the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law, “forced labour of Uighurs” with import restrictions on products made in Xinjiang, “violations of the rights of Tibetan monks,” “threats of military invasion of Taiwan,” and “misinterpretation” of UN Resolution 2758 from October 1971 concerning the international status of the island.
However, by the autumn of last year, a trend towards lowering the intensity of the anti-china campaign began to emerge in London. In China, this is attributed to the arrival of the Labour Party in power in the UK in July 2024. However, from the author’s perspective, the main reason lies in a much more significant factor: the already clearly defined prospect of a Republican victory led by Donald Trump in the general elections in the key ally’s territory.
The “exploration” of the possibility of improving relations with Washington’s main geopolitical opponent was the main aim of the aforementioned visit to Beijing by David Lammy. This mission was continued in early January 2025 by UK Finance Minister, Rishi Reeves. In London, they also recalled the existence of the platform in the complex relations with China, mentioned earlier. After a six-year hiatus, David Lammy and Wang Yi resumed work on the bilateral Strategic Dialogue. Meetings also took place between the Chinese guest and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as Starmer’s National Security Adviser, Jonathan Powell. During all these events, the parties exchanged numerous complimentary signals.
Considering the radically different approaches of both the former and current US administrations towards relations with China, it is quite possible that we are witnessing the beginning of a process of a significant divergence in the foreign policies of the two leading Anglo-Saxon countries.
Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference
In fact, some important points from the Chinese Foreign Minister’s notable speech at the latest Munich Security Conference (MSC) were introduced during his stay in Ireland, which he visited after London. In particular, Wang Yi’s remark about the EU as one of the “key powers in a multipolar world” and China’s intention to develop relations with Brussels stood out. This fits into China’s efforts to find a certain anchor in the EU, whose relationship with the Trump administration seems to have entered a phase of degradation.
At the same time, Beijing, as we’ve noted, is not turning a blind eye to the significant difficulties, primarily in the trade and economic sphere, in China-EU relations. Again, it is only partially accurate to agree with the prevailing view in China that the trade restrictions imposed by the EU over the past two or three years are solely a result of Washington’s pressure. In reality, a very important role in this plays the Europeans’ own concerns about the prospect of losing their competitive positions, particularly in high-tech industries. These concerns began to emerge in the second half of the last decade, linked to what was then called the “Chinese shopping spree” in the field of advanced European industry.
Nevertheless, Beijing’s characteristic patience in dealing with any partners, including those who are not always entirely rational, remains intact. While in Munich, Wang Yi reaffirmed the key points of his statement made at the previous Munich Security Conference last year. In particular, the final conclusion of his speech this year was the same acknowledgment of “Europe’s important role in a multipolar world,” in which China and the EU are “partners, not rivals.” The main content of his speech included four fundamental principles that, in the speaker’s view, must be adhered to in today’s extremely complex international situation: “equality,” “respect for international law,” “multilateralism,” and “openness and mutual benefit.”
Commentators in China noted a certain sign of reciprocal movement by the Europeans towards Beijing in the fact that at the MSC 2025, Wang Yi found himself among the three speakers who delivered introductory speeches. The other two were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US Vice President Jay D. Vance.
Finally, it is worth noting that the results of the Foreign Minister’s latest visit to Europe fit into the emerging trend of radical changes in the US-China-Europe triangle in recent months, with the growing arbitrariness of referring to the last as a “single corner.” From China’s perspective, and that of other emerging Asian “centres of power,” this in no way diminishes Europe’s significance – both as a whole and in its important “parts.”
Vladimir Terekhov, expert on the issues of the Asia-Pacific region
