China’s interests to determine actions, but door left ajar in Beijing for European leaders


Source: irishtimes.com irishtimes.com

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French president Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen are meeting Chinese leaders in Beijing regarding the direction of relations with China. Photograph: Wu Hao/EPA Emmanuel Macron’s red carpet treatment in Beijing was the most lavish and his tone conciliatory while Ursula von der Leyen was just about met at the airport as she arrived to deliver a flinty message to Chinese president Xi Jinping. Was this a good cop, bad cop routine, or was Xi playing them off against one another, using Macron’s susceptibility to flattery to humiliate Von der Leyen? In agreeing to tag along with...