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- Calendar turned upside down: EU diplomats will not attend the military parade in China on September 3
Calendar turned upside down: EU diplomats will not attend the military parade in China on September 3
EU ambassadors have decided to boycott the military parade in China on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, scheduled for September 3. According to media reports, they decided to refrain from participating in the event due to the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the possible participation of Russian military personnel in the march. In addition, the decision to skip the celebration was made so as not to displease Tokyo. How this step will affect relations between Beijing and European capitals is in the Izvestia article.
They won't come to the parade
"The EU Ambassador to China, Jorge Toledo, will not attend the parade. Several other high-ranking diplomats from EU countries are going to follow his example. Some of them directly refused to participate, others specifically planned a vacation for the period when a military parade will be held in the capital of China," The South China Morning Post reported, citing five sources.
Celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japan and the end of World War II will be held on September 3 at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Russian Presidential Aide for International Affairs Yuri Ushakov said that Russian Leader Vladimir Putin will take part in the celebrations organized by the Chinese authorities.
In addition, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said that the Chinese authorities were also going to invite US representatives to the parade.
According to the publication, European diplomats invited to the celebration in the capital of China are concerned about the "possible participation of the Russian military" in the parade, and also fear to displease Tokyo.
At the same time, the publication notes that there is no confirmation yet that representatives of the Russian Armed Forces will participate in the military parade this year. By the way, 10 years ago, the honor guard of the 154th separate Preobrazhensky Commandant Regiment, numbering 76 people, participated in the ceremony on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Not enemies and not friends
Relations between China and Europe are experiencing a period of turbulence caused, on the one hand, by unresolved political and economic problems, and, on the other, by the general conflict situation in the world.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
In early July, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi flew to Europe. Beijing was counting on a rapprochement between China and the EU amid trade tensions between both sides and the United States — after Donald Trump returned to the White House, the European Union and China seemed close to establishing bilateral relations. However, the expected de-escalation did not happen.
Before that, at the Munich Security Conference in February this year, the Chinese Foreign Minister did everything to present China as a reliable partner of the European Union in an era of global turbulence.
Brussels also tried to smooth out some sharp corners, making it clear more than once that they would not allow a break with China, no matter how much the American leader pushed them to do so.
At the same time, the parties announced the visit of the Chinese minister to Europe. On the eve of Wang Yi's European tour, during which he visited Brussels, Berlin and Paris, Beijing expressed its desire to maintain "peace and stability, protect multilateralism, free trade, international rules, honesty and justice, and firmly act as an anchor of stability and constructive forces in an unstable world."
However, it turned out that the sides were unable to bring their positions closer. Wang Yi came to Europe in part to prepare for the EU—China summit scheduled for July 24-25. It was originally planned that the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the head of the European Council, Antonio Costa, would meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, and travel to Hefei the next day. However, soon the second day was deleted from the summit program, reducing the visit to one day.
This happened after von der Leyen's statements made on the eve of the trip. In them, she put forward a number of demands to Beijing, including limiting cooperation with Moscow.
In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping at the meeting called on Europe to "make the right strategic choice", rejecting the policy of dictate and sanctions. Beijing has also made it clear that it does not intend to sacrifice its partnership with Russia for the sake of rapprochement with Europe.
The 18th package of EU sanctions approved by the Council of the European Union affected five Chinese companies, as well as two Chinese banks for providing services related to cryptocurrency.
However, in addition to the disagreements related to trade relations between China and the Russian Federation, there are more serious contradictions in relations between Beijing and Brussels.
In October 2024, the European Union finally approved the introduction of additional duties on imports of electric vehicles from China. Then the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China announced that Beijing was introducing anti-dumping measures against brandy imported from the European Union, which seriously affected European producers.
In addition, the Chinese authorities have launched an anti-subsidy investigation into dairy products imported from the EU, and until December 16, Beijing extended the anti-dumping investigation into pork imports from the EU for six months.
Beijing has other retaliatory techniques in its arsenal, such as imposing restrictions on the export of rare earths and the access of European corporations and banks to the Chinese market.
What do the experts think
Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, notes in an interview with Izvestia that any attempt to limit relations between China and the European Union will immediately have negative consequences for both sides. The political scientist added that Beijing "is present in any European production chain."
— Brussels has previously announced a risk reduction policy in relations with China and has been trying to implement it ever since. The experience of European-Russian relations has shown that if there is a strong political or ideological attitude, then any economy can be broken over its knee, so the EU can impose sanctions on China, but it will be very painful and unpleasant for it," the Sinologist believes.
Elena Panina, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies, believes that for the EU, loyalty to anti-Russian ideological attitudes is more expensive than relations with China. "We have another confirmation that the European bureaucrats, as they say, are terribly far from the people. The dogmas of Russophobia turn out to be more important for Europe than good relations with China and the potential opportunity to improve EU—China relations against the background of Trump's tariffs," the analyst believes.
According to the political scientist, thus Brussels "itself turns into an irritant for China."
"And at a time when it is especially important for Beijing to show a harmonious picture to the whole world. For the Chinese, the anniversary parade is a day of strength and symbolic unity. The absence of Europeans is out of the planned scenario.: instead of the picture "we unite," it turns out "we are with Russia and the Global South, and Europe is on the sidelines," the expert believes.
The expert added that such a confrontation from the Old World "looks not just unnecessary, but also stupid."
"After all, in all other cases, the Europeans go out of their way to be given a place in certain negotiations. How are they going to divide the world if they refuse to even sit down at a common table? Well, anyone who refuses to observe decency and sit down at the table, sooner or later becomes a dish on this table," concluded Panina.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
