Chinese President Xi Jinping
visited Europe in May, 2024 “amid concerns in Europe over Chinese support for
Russia’s war in Ukraine and European markets being flooded with cheap Chinese
electric vehicles.”[1] Although these matters were at the time properly matters for the E.U. rather
than its states, Xi oriented his visit to the state level, and in particular to
states including France and Hungary that had “special bilateral relationships”
with China.[2]
In other words, the Chinese leader sought to exploit the E.U.’s vulnerability
wherein state governments have sufficient sovereignty to undermine the federal
level. I contend that the state leaders should have refused to meet with Xi,
redirecting him to meet with federal officials.
The full essay is at "China Exploits a Vulnerability of the E.U."
1. Yuchen Li and Wesley Rahn, “Did
China’s Xi Jinping Expose Disunity in Europe?” Deutsch Welle (DW.de), May
10, 2024.
2. Ibid.
2. Ibid.
