Xi's mission in Europe: Sell China's economic opportunities

He is visiting France, Serbia and Hungary, which are seeking investments from China

BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to the European Union for the first time in five years with a clear message: Beijing offers much more of an economic opportunity for the bloc than the US wants to admit.

The Chinese leader will begin his five-day trip to France, Serbia and Hungary on May 5, according to the Foreign Ministry in Beijing.

Those nations are seeking investment from China, despite a litany of EU investigations into Beijing's industrial policy and warnings from officials in Washington about the risks.

President Emmanuel Macron aims to deepen his personal connection with Mr Xi during the latter's two-day visit to France, as he appeals to the Chinese leader to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified discussing Paris' approach.

Mr Macron also aims to entice Chinese spending in France's electric vehicle (EV) battery sector, they said.

That charm offensive will include hosting Mr Xi for dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, where the menu may feature French cognac, according to the people - a liquor subject to a Beijing antidumping probe.

Mr Macron will then invite his Chinese counterpart to a corner of the Pyrenees mountains where the French President used to visit his grandmother as a child, the people added.

"France's Emmanuel Macron offers Xi the opportunity to negotiate with a leading EU power that's proved willing to carve a more independent path," said National University of Singapore associate professor of Chong Ja Ian.

political science This trip "is an effort to try to pull at parts of Europe that Xi feels might be more sympathetic to his position".

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Mr Macron's diplomatic adviser on April 27 that he hopes Paris can push the EU to pursue a pragmatic policy towards Beijing.