Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Norway this week. What are the topics of greatest concern to the EU and China? How have European countries' attitudes toward China changed in recent months? Deutsche Welle interviewed Lucrezia Poggetti, an expert on EU-China relations at The Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. DW: In the past, foreign ministers' visits between China and Europe did not attract much media attention. However, this time Wang Yi visited Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Norway, and the European media's attention was obviously higher. Does this visit really matter? Lucrezia Poggetti: Yes, there have been many important changes recently.
For example, on the Hong Kong issue, the EU telemarketing list officials reached a consensus on the "Hong Kong National Security Law" a month ago, and introduced countermeasures such as restricting exports and adjusting extradition treaties. . There is also the escalating Sino-US confrontation, especially on the 5G issue. The United States has introduced a series of measures against Huawei, which also affects the use of Huawei in European countries. Wang Yi's visit to Europe this time comes at a critical time for Huawei's participation in 5G construction. 5G is bound to be the key topic of this trip.
In addition, cooperation around the new crown epidemic is also a key point, as reflected in the joint press conference of Wang Yi and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on August 25. This includes both vaccine research and development cooperation and post-pandemic economic recovery. Wang Yi also emphasized adherence to multilateralism, which is to criticize the United States without naming names. At the same time, he also called on European countries not to rely on the United States in strategy. So I think one of the main goals of Wang Yi's trip is to prevent Europe and the United States from uniting against China. The Chinese foreign minister hopes to send a message to major European countries.