European officials and respected academics expressed high expectations for the upcoming visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the continent.
Xi will pay state visits to France, Serbia and Hungary from May 5 to 10, with the trip expected to enhance bilateral relations between China and the three countries and boost mutually beneficial cooperation.
It will be the Chinese president's first trip to Europe in nearly five years.
His visit to France marks Xi's third state visit to the European country after visits in 2014 and 2019. This visit, occurring in the 60th anniversary year of China-France diplomatic relations, holds profound significance and offers a pivotal opportunity to both honor past accomplishments and chart a course for the future of bilateral relations.
"France is very honored to welcome the arrival of the Chinese president. This visit is of great significance," said Michel Espagne, director of the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS).
"It's very important. The first big issue is security, with two wars that are of great concern to France, especially the Ukraine one. And I'm sure President Macron, like he did a year ago, will be intent on discussing this with President Xi. There are lots of other things. There are global issues, whether it's on climate, which has been now for more than 10 years, a central pillar in the discussion between France and China. I'm also thinking of the economy cooperation, people-to-people fields. But also, I'm thinking of AI. So, artificial intelligence is really shaping up as a major force in reshaping international relations," said Justin Vaisse, director general of the Paris Peace Forum.
In Serbia, President Xi's upcoming visit has been hailed as a chance to take an enduring bilateral relationship to new levels.
"We are happy that the President of China will visit Serbia again, and we will have a chance to show the continual development of the iron friendship between Serbia and China. So, I think the most important message is that continual cooperation between Serbia and China are going further," said Bojan Lalic, director of the Institute for Belt and Road Studies in Belgrade.
Scholars and officials in Hungary said China's opening and inclusive diplomatic policies have contributed deeply to global stability, noting that President Xi's visit stands to better enable Hungary to cooperate with China to strengthen this goal.
"These high-level political meetings and visits are very frequent. People-to-people relations are also thriving. Altogether, I would say that today is the golden age of Chinese-Hungarian relations," said Gergely Salat, chairman of the Committee on Oriental Studies at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
"We are really great friends, and despite some countries in the European Union, even in Brussels, want to impose some steps ahead on China, we oppose it. We want to stay open, because connectivity is much better than blocking systems, globalization is still the best way, and cooperating with China is the best way to improve global trade, the global economy, and be more developed," said Hungarian Minister for National Economy Marton Nagy.