Connect with us

World

Xi's European tour: Some euro, no vision

Published

on

Xi's European tour: Some euro, no vision

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.

For China to revive its fortunes, it must fundamentally change course, abandoning its version of predatory state capitalism in favour of the genuine market reforms its trade partners worldwide are calling for, Elaine Dezenski writes.

ADVERTISEMENT

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. 

Advertisement

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.

A bad call at a bad time

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. 

Advertisement

Instead, he chose the path of confrontation towards vital European trading partners while cosying up to Europe’s authoritarian eastern flank.

This represents an untimely miscalculation. By ignoring the reasonable concerns of Europe’s leading economies, Xi has squandered an opportunity to help stave off potential economic implosion at home. 

Foreign capital will continue fleeing, spooked investors won’t return, and European markets will become increasingly inaccessible so long as Beijing maintains its predatory trade practices.

Respect the rules of the market you need

The reality is that while China’s domestic market remains important, the number of foreign firms deriving profits there appears to be shrinking. 

According to a report from the McKinsey Global Institute, multinational corporations’ “share of all revenues earned in China declined from 16% to 10% from 2006 to 2020.” 

Advertisement

For many, the Chinese market has become an empty promise. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China’s latest survey shows record-low business confidence in the Chinese market. 

In fact, a record share of respondents doubted their profitability in China. In the US, as well, less than half of companies responding to an American Chamber of Commerce in China survey indicated they expect to be profitable in 2024.

Xi had an opportunity to change the tides with respect to investment in China. He could have addressed the pressing needs of his European trading partners with humility and opened the door to renewed economic cooperation. 

Unfortunately for the Chinese people, returning to robust commerce with Europe and North America’s major economies would require the flexibility and respect for market principles that Xi’s authoritarian mindset renders him incapable of delivering. 

ADVERTISEMENT

With foreign capital fleeing, property values falling, youth unemployment surging, and indebtedness soaring, China is in desperate need of a win for its export-driven economy.

The status quo won’t fly any more

On this trip, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen bluntly conveyed the EU’s demands for fair economic competition with China and its willingness to robustly defend its interests against Beijing’s unfair trade practices. 

Advertisement

In response, Xi bluntly denied the basis for Europe’s concerns, claiming, “The so-called ‘problem of China’s overcapacity’ does not exist, either from the perspective of comparative advantage or in light of global demand.” 

This builds on the ES’s 2019 designation of China as a “systemic rival” and should be understood in China for what it is: a clear warning that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

By doubling down on authoritarian belligerence, Xi demonstrated a lack of vision for productive European engagement. 

ADVERTISEMENT

For China to revive its fortunes, it must fundamentally change course, abandoning its version of predatory state capitalism in favour of the genuine market reforms its trade partners worldwide are calling for. 

By ignoring Europe’s call for change, Xi has ensured darker economic days ahead for the Chinese people.

Elaine Dezenski is senior director and head of the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a non-partisan think tank based in Washington, DC.

Advertisement

At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.

World

Nobel Institute shuts down talk of Venezuelan leader sharing Peace Prize with Trump

Published

on

Nobel Institute shuts down talk of Venezuelan leader sharing Peace Prize with Trump

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize rejected recent suggestions that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado could give or share her award with President Donald Trump.

The Norwegian Nobel Institute shut down the idea Friday, after Machado suggested that she might transfer the prestigious award to Trump earlier this week.

“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,” the institute said in a statement. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”

The statement comes after Machado floated the idea during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

Advertisement

UNITED NATIONS ‘UPSET’ THAT TRUMP TOOK ‘BOLD ACTION’ TO IMPROVE VENEZUELA, SAYS UN AMB. MIKE WALTZ

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado waves at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, early Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)

“Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?” Sean Hannity asked. “Did that actually happen?”

Machado responded, “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.”

“I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado continued. “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition.”

Advertisement

TRUMP ADMIN SAYS MADURO CAPTURE REINFORCES ALIEN ENEMIES ACT REMOVALS

Nobel officials said the Peace Prize cannot be shared after Machado suggested honoring Trump. (REUTERS/Maxwell Briceno and Win McNamee/Getty Images)

On Jan. 3, Trump announced that the U.S. had successfully completed an operation to capture authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is now facing drug trafficking charges in New York.

Trump was asked during an appearance Thursday on “Hannity” whether he would accept the Nobel Prize from Machado.

“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump responded. “That would be a great honor.”

Advertisement

TRUMP OUSTING OF MADURO DRAWS PARALLELS TO US RAID IN PANAMA – BUT THERE ARE SOME MAJOR CONTRASTS

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

Machado secretly escaped Venezuela last month and traveled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.

“Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated it to President Trump because I believed at that point that he deserved it,” Machado said on “Hannity.” “And a lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd.”

Trump said he plans to meet with the Venezuelan opposition leader in Washington next week.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

He has previously stated that Machado “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to lead. Trump has supported acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime Maduro loyalist, who previously served as vice president under Maduro.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

World

Somali minister says Israel plans to displace Palestinians to Somaliland

Published

on

Somali minister says Israel plans to displace Palestinians to Somaliland

Somalia’s minister of defence, Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, has accused Israel of planning to forcibly displace Palestinians to the breakaway region of Somaliland, denouncing the alleged plan as a “serious violation” of international law.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Fiqi called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw his diplomatic recognition of the “separatist region”, calling the move announced late last year a “direct attack” on Somalia’s sovereignty.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 itemsend of list

“Israel has long had goals and plans to divide countries – maybe before 20 years – and it wants to divide the map of the Middle East and control its countries… this is why they found this separatist group in northwestern Somalia,” Fiqi told Al Jazeera.

“We have confirmed information that Israel has a plan to transfer Palestinians and to send them to [Somaliland],” he added, without elaborating.

Fiqi’s comments came amid a global outcry over Netanyahu’s decision in December to recognise Somaliland, a breakaway part of Somalia comprising the northwestern portion of what was once the British Protectorate.

Advertisement

The move made Israel the first country in the world to recognise Somaliland as an independent state and came months after The Associated Press news agency reported that Israeli officials had contacted parties in Somalia, Somaliland and Sudan to discuss using their territory for forcibly displacing Palestinians amid its genocidal war on Gaza.

Somalia denounced the Israeli move, with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud telling Al Jazeera that Somaliland had accepted three conditions from Israel: The resettlement of Palestinians, the establishment of a military base on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, and joining the Abraham Accords to normalise ties with Israel.

Officials in Somaliland have denied agreeing to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, and say there have been no discussions on an Israeli military base in the area.

But Fiqi on Saturday reiterated that Israel “wants to create a military base to destabilise the region” on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea.

“I see it as an occupation to destabilise the area,” Fiqi added.

Advertisement

He also stressed that Israel has no legal right to grant legitimacy to a region within a sovereign state.

Somaliland first declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but it has failed to gain recognition from any United Nations member state since.

Israel’s world-first announcement triggered protests in Somalia and swift criticisms from dozens of countries and organisations, including Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and the African Union.

Fiqi told Al Jazeera that Israel’s move falls into a decades-long goal to control the Middle East and accused Israel of exploiting separatist movements in the region. Roughly half of the areas formerly known as Somaliland have declared their affiliation with Somalia over the past two years, he added.

The minister praised the countries that had condemned Israel and pledged that Somalia would lean on all diplomatic and legal means to reject Israel’s “violation”.

Advertisement

He also commended United States President Donald Trump’s administration for not recognising Somaliland.

Although the US was the only member of the 15-member United Nations Security Council that did not condemn Israel for the recognition on December 30, it said its position on Somaliland had not changed.

For its part, Somaliland’s governing party has defended its newfound relations with Israel after Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar travelled to Hargeisa, the region’s largest city and self-declared capital, earlier this week.

Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, chairman of the governing Waddani party, told Al Jazeera days later that Somaliland was “not in a position to choose” who provided it with legitimacy after decades of being spurned by the international community.

“We are in a state of necessity for official international recognition,” Hassan said. “There is no choice before us but to welcome any country that recognises our existential right.”

Advertisement

Hassan did not deny the prospect of a potential military base.

“We have started diplomatic relations… This topic [a military base] has not been touched upon now,” he said.

When pressed on whether Somaliland would accept such a request in the future, Hassan said only to “ask the question when the time comes”, calling the line of inquiry “untimely”.

Israeli think tanks say Somaliland’s location, at the gateway to the Red Sea and across from Yemen, make it a strategic site for operations against the Yemeni Houthi rebel group, which imposed a naval blockade on Israeli-linked shipping before the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza.

The Institute for National Security Studies, in a November report, said Somaliland’s territory could “serve as a forward base” for intelligence monitoring of the Houthis and serve “a platform for direct operations” against them.

Advertisement

The Houthis said that any Israeli presence would be a target, a statement Somaliland’s former intelligence chief, Mostafa Hasan, said amounted to a declaration of war.

Continue Reading

World

Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

Published

on

Video: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

new video loaded: Owner of Swiss Bar Detained in Fire Investigation

Prosecutors in Switzerland ordered Jacques Moretti to be detained after investigators questioned him and his wife, Jessica Moretti. Officials are looking into whether negligence played a role in last week’s deadly fire at their bar, Le Constellation.

By Meg Felling

January 9, 2026

Continue Reading

Trending