As Chinese President Xi Jinping concludes his first foreign trip of 2019, he can congratulate himself on at least one thing: masterfully making use of the daylight between Brussels and Washington when it comes to China policy. While the Trump administration pursues its ongoing trade war, it has failed to convince European countries to banish Huawei’s equipment from their 5G infrastructures, or to resist China’s international infrastructure development strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), designed to build pathways for trade but which also, critics say, expands Chinese influence and entraps countries in Chinese debt.



Xi’s trip took him to Italy, Monaco, and France, a clever itinerary that allowed him to maximize cooperative opportunities, painting China as a willing economic and global governance partner for the EU, and allaying Chinese citizens’ fears about being blackballed by the West.

The Italian portion of the visit focused on the BRI, Rome’s endorsement being Xi’s greatest win so far in 2019. Italy, a founding member of the EU, is the first G7 country to formally sign on to China’s grand infrastructure project, breathing new life into the much-maligned initiative. Over the past year, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, among others, canceled or cut back BRI projects. The seizure of the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota and fears of so-called “debt-trap diplomacy” further eroded faith in the project, with many countries questioning Beijing’s promises of “win-win” cooperation. But Italy is the wealthiest country to join the BRI, and Xi will be able to signal to his constituents that the project is still held in high international regard despite the aforementioned setbacks.

Though many EU countries, particularly Germany and France, have been highly skeptical of the BRI, the Five Star Movement wing of Italy’s populist coalition government has observed the success of Greece’s Piraeus Port, a majority share of which is held by COSCO, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hopes to make Italy’s own ports, notably those in Trieste and Genoa, similar entry points for Chinese trade with Europe. And while another group in the governing coalition—the far-right League—takes a dim view of engagement with China, during Xi’s visit, Rome signed 29 deals worth $2.8 billion, wagering on Chinese investments to help pull it out of a grinding recession. Among other things, the deal is a reminder that the EU has not been able to offer its members attractive alternatives to Chinese investment.

Xi’s visit to Monaco had much do with the country’s endorsement of Huawei, the telecommunications and electronics giant which the U.S. has accused of enabling Chinese state surveillance. On February 27, Monaco Telecom and Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and deploy “smart city” technology for the principality. Last week, this victory for Xi was followed by EU countries rejecting the Trump administration’s calls to ban Huawei from European 5G infrastructure. New Zealand and Australia have followed the United States’ lead, but Europe has fallen far behind China and the United States in 5G: The decision reflects, at least in part, the recognition that it cannot afford to ban Huawei from its networks.