Former Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye has been appointed China's Special Representative for European Affairs. He is outspoken and has been involved in a series of high-profile controversies during a half-decade in Paris. Lu succeeds Wu Hongbo, who became the first holder of the office in 2019. Yet despite all the controversy – and frequent speculation about whether Lu would be recalled – he served the full term as Ambassador. Lu’s appointment comes at a delicate moment for China’s relations with Europe, which have deteriorated in recent years amid rows over trade, geopolitics and human rights. Ties have been significantly strained over China’s close relationship with Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, while long-standing commercial grievances have threatened to bubble over into a full-blown trade war.
With U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to the White House last month, Beijing had been expected to pursue a “charm offensive” towards Europe, said one diplomat, who was one of several sources to voice surprise at Lu’s selection for the job given his reputation in Europe. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, has signaled repeatedly this year that the door is open to improve ties with China, as the bloc looks to recalibrate its geopolitical relations in the face of anticipated turmoil in the transatlantic dynamic. “You have to wonder why he would be put in such a position at this time,” said a second EU diplomat. “It is an unusual signal to send.”
At a farewell reception at China’s embassy in Paris in December, however, Lu’s remarks were more conciliatory. “Economic and trade relations have always been the ballast of China-France relations. Cultural exchanges are the driving force. And Chinese people in France are a bridge that connects our hearts,” he said in comments that appeared in videos on social media. His appointment comes ahead of a series of engagements at the EU-China level. The EU’s top official for Asia, Niclas Kvarnstrom, is due to visit Beijing this week to meet counterparts, while its top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is slated to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference days later.
In his monthly newsletter for the German Marshall Fund for the United States, Analyst Noah Barkin reported that EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic “has received an invitation from his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, to visit Beijing”. A date has not yet been set, however, for the EU-China summit, which is expected to be held in Brussels towards the end of the year, the South China Morning Post reports.
