Euroviews. Xi's European tour: Some euro, no vision

Xi Jinping arrived in Europe earlier this week lugging some heavy economic baggage. 

With foreign direct investment into China plunging 82% to just $33 billion (€30.5bn) in 2023 — a three-decade low — one might have expected Xi's tour to be a full-fledged charm offensive aimed at wooing back skittish European investors and businesses. 

However, the authoritarian leader's trip was anything but charming.

Rather than candidly address the headwinds battering China's economy and appease anxious trading partners, Xi doubled down on the same tone deaf tactics that have defined his authoritarian rule for over a decade. 

Cosying up to the like-minded regimes in Hungary and Serbia, Xi offered limited compromises on China's aggressive trade practices. This hardline posture underscores Xi's fundamental inability to relate to major market economies as an equal partner respecting fair competition.

For China, the results have been disastrous. The fact that the US has now surpassed China as Germany's largest trading partner lays bare the costs of Xi's inflexible approach. 

Germany has been one of China’s more reliable European partners — this shift, however, shows the extent of Europe’s growing rejection of China's hegemonic ambitions.

With a looming demographic crisis at home and a faltering real estate sector, China needs its top export markets — the US and Europe — more than ever. But authoritarians don't make a habit of offering concessions or leading with a spirit of compromise. 

Xi had a prime opportunity on this European tour to chart a new course, one oriented around economic liberalisation, market reforms, supply chain transparency, and fair competition. 

Instead, he chose the path of confrontation towards vital European trading