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THIS WEEK:

Xi Jinping looks to France, green lights for Tesla in Beijing, the party’s Third Plenum is slated for July, and Secretary Blinken goes record shopping. 

1. Xi Jinping Heads to Europe

What Happened: China’s Foreign Ministry announced that Xi Jinping would travel to France, Serbia, and Hungary from May 5 to 10, his first visit to Europe in five years.
 
France Engages: In Paris, Xi will mark 60 years of diplomatic relations and attend a Franco-Chinese business conference. Xi will then travel to Macron’s grandmother’s village in the Hautes-Pyrénées, reciprocating the Xi-Macron meeting last year in Guangzhou, where Xi’s father was governor and party chief.
 
The EU Politics: Xi and Macron will meet jointly with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden, an important gesture at a time when the EU’s trade body is investigating Chinese electric vehicles. In the run-up to the European Parliament elections on June 9, China has praised Macron’s calls for European strategic autonomy.
 
Why it Matters: Macron wants to engage China “in a turbulent geopolitical environment” but faces opposition in the EU parliament, which over the past eight years has harshly criticized China on human rights and opposed a China-EU investment agreement. Macron will also bring up Ukraine, but without much hope of success — Xi will host Russian president Vladimir Putin in Beijing later this month.
 
By: Philippe Le Corre, Senior Fellow, Center for China Analysis, and Senior Advisor on Geopolitics, Asia Society France
 
Learn More: Read Philippe’s article on why Germany and France Have to Form a Common Front Toward China.

2. Elon Musk Courts Li Qiang

What Happened: Elon Musk met Premier Li Qiang in Beijing to discuss concerns about storing consumer data and the roll out of Tesla’s self-driving software in China. After the meeting, Tesla announced that Chinese authorities ruled that its China-made cars complied with data security requirements and removed restrictions on them.

The Deal: To address China’s concerns about the data collected by Tesla’s supervised Full Self-Driving feature, Tesla agreed to store information locally. During his trip, Musk also secured a partnership with Baidu that will improve the resolution of the local maps used in Tesla's in China. 

What Li Qiang Said: Li told Musk that Tesla was a “successful model” for U.S.-China collaboration. The same day, Li visited the Beijing Auto Show, where he said China will strive to build on its advantages in auto manufacturing while relaxing market access, promoting trade and investment liberalization, and treating domestic and foreign-funded enterprises equally. 

Why It Matters: Amid the clamor over China’s electric vehicle industry, Beijing is keen to advertise the mutual benefit it sees from Tesla’s presence in China — Tesla’s Shanghai assembly plant is the world’s largest electric vehicle factory and China is its second largest market. Beijing is also signaling to foreign automakers — and policymakers — that it is open to discussions about their concerns.

By: Taylah Bland, Fellow on Climate and the Environment, Center for China Analysis

Learn More: Watch China and the Rise of Electric Vehicles, an online event featuring ASPI’s Wendy Cutler, held in partnership with the Washington International Trade Association (WITA).  

3. Decisive Third Plenum Will Convene in July

What Happened: At a Politburo meeting chaired by Xi Jinping on April 30, it was announced that the 20th Central Committee will hold its economy-focused Third Plenum in July.
 
A Belated Plenary: Precedent suggested that this plenum should have been held in late 2023. No explanation was given for the delay, but it was widely attributed to uncertainty about how to respond to China’s economic difficulties. Another reason may have been the need to conclude disciplinary investigations into former foreign minister Qin Gang and former defense minister Li Shangfu — the plenum is an opportunity to remove them from the Central Committee and promote Li’s successor Dong Jun to the Central Military Commission.
 
Between the Lines: The Politburo said the topic of the Third Plenum will be “further comprehensively deepening reforms and advancing the question of Chinese-style modernization,” implying reforms that advance Xi’s state-guided agenda of debt limitation, market rectification, and tech self-reliance. But other pledges, like “taking economic system reform as the leading force,” hint at some changes in emphasis, which could include stronger support for consumers and the private sector.   
 
Why it Matters: The Plenum will issue an authoritative “decision,” a document that is intended to guide economic policymaking for years to come. It will be a major watchpoint for businesses, markets, and policymakers tracking China’s national trajectory and growth potential.
 
By: Neil Thomas, Fellow on Chinese Politics, Center for China Analysis
 
Learn More: Take a closer look at the people, institutions, and networks behind China’s policymaking with the Center for China Analysis’s flagship Decoding Chinese Politics project.

4. State-Owned Shipyard Scores Record Deal

What Happened: The China State Shipbuilding Corporation secured the world's largest single shipbuilding order to date, concluding a $5.5 billion contract with QatarEnergy for the construction of 18 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. 

The Details: Designed and built at Shanghai’s Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard, the vessels will be the world’s largest LNG carriers, with 60% more cargo capacity than conventional ones. Sinopec signed its third long-term LNG purchase agreement with QatarEnergy in November 2023.

The Backlash: Alarmed by the rapid growth of China’s shipbuilding industry, the United States Trade Representative initiated a Section 301 investigation into Chinese government subsidies for the sector. Although the United States is the largest exporter of LNG, the last time an LNG carrier was built in an American shipyard was in 1980.

Why It Matters: China’s manufacturing capabilities continue to advance. The contract confirms China’s emergence as a major player in LNG carrier construction, challenging South Korea’s longstanding dominance.

By: Jie Gao, Research Associate on Foreign Policy and National Security, Center for China Analysis 

Learn More: Watch this new webinar on Shipbuilding — The Next U.S.-China Trade Battle? co-organized by ASPI and WITA.

5. Secretary Blinken’s Record Store Day

What Happened: In Beijing for meetings with Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited a music store in the 798 Art District, where he picked up vinyl records by Taylor Swift and Chinese rocker Dou Wei as a gesture of U.S.-China cultural exchange.
 
Black Dreams: Blinken bought Dou Wei’s 1994 album “Black Dream” on the recommendation of the record store’s owner. The album is considered a pathbreaking classic of Chinese indie rock; Radiohead were reportedly fans.
 
The Dividend Generation: Born in 1969, Dou Wei reached the height of his popularity in the mid-1990s, a time when economic liberalization and changing social norms were radically transforming China. He now lives as a semi-recluse in Beijing, where he has been photographed riding an electric scooter and eating noodles at street stalls, disheveled and no longer thin.
 
Why It Matters: For some members of Dou Wei’s generation — who were the primary beneficiaries of China’s reform and opening — his surprise reappearance as cultural currency in U.S.-China relations sparked reminiscences of the promise and opportunity of the time his music was popular. And his current lifestyle — the embodiment of “lie flat” and “let it rot” — is a reminder of how far away that promise seems now. 
 
By: G.A. Donovan, Fellow for Chinese Political Economy and Society, Center for China Analysis
 
Learn More: Read Evan S. Medeiros’ pathbreaking analysis of The New Domestic Politics of U.S.-China Relations.