Between September 12 and 16 of this year, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the CPC Central Committee Politburo, Wang Yi, visited Austria, Slovenia, and Poland.

Europe Remains in the Focus of China’s Leadership

This was already his third European tour just this year. In February, Wang Yi paid visits to the United Kingdom and Ireland and also took part in the annual “Security Conference” in Munich. In early July, he represented the Chinese side at the 13th “China–EU Strategic Dialogue” held in Brussels, after which he visited Germany and France.

Commentary on his most recent European tour placed particular emphasis on the fact that Slovenia and Poland are full members, while Austria has observer status, in the China–Central and Eastern European Country (CEEC) configuration. This grouping was established at the beginning of the last decade to form an important component of the overall trade and economic route connecting China with Europe. That route constitutes one of the key elements of the global Belt and Road Initiative. By the end of the previous decade, CEEC included 17 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, but in 2022 the three Baltic states withdrew, and today it is often referred to as “14+1.”

Within this trio, it seems that only Estonia refrained from provocative actions directed at the world’s second power, most notably on the Taiwan issue. Since the end of last year, a certain recovery of Sino-Estonian relations has been noted. It is also worth pointing out that Brussels has more or less consistently regarded CEEC with suspicion, suspecting it of “separatism.” The timeliness of Wang Yi’s visit was further heightened by Poland’s closure of its border with Belarus on the eve of his arrival, effectively blocking one of the “gateways” in the China–Europe communications system.

Wang Yi in Austria

It is quite possible that Austria was included in Wang Yi’s itinerary partly because of an information leak in August suggesting Vienna might renounce its neutral status and join NATO. This, of course, would require a process of public debate. The issue is far from irrelevant to Beijing, considering NATO leadership’s ambitions for an almost global expansion of its original sphere of interests, as well as the increasing military activity of leading European states in parts of the Indo-Pacific that are especially sensitive for China.

On September 1, however, Chancellor K. Stocke declared that “the issue is not on the agenda; the Republic’s neutrality is beyond doubt.” Even so, it seems this subtext was present in Wang Yi’s remark expressing China’s “hope for continuity” in Austria’s foreign policy. He made this statement during his meeting with Foreign Minister B. Meinl-Reisinger.

In his talks with her and with President A. Van der Bellen, Wang Yi focused primarily on bilateral relations and on possible threats to their continuation. The main concern is whether China’s partners uphold the “One China” principle, on which Wang Yi urged his interlocutors not to cast doubt. They did not, however, specify their stance on the Taiwan issue, which, from Beijing’s perspective, lies at the heart of that principle. Overall, both sides expressed their intention to continue developing relations across a wide spectrum of areas.

Visits to Slovenia and Poland

Both Slovenia and Poland are part of the “14+1” format. Its backbone is to be a high-speed rail route beginning at the Greek port of Piraeus, leased by China, passing through Serbia and Hungary and on to Poland and other Central European countries. Although the main line bypasses Slovenia, the country can nonetheless benefit from it to expand its trade and economic relations with China.

For Slovenia, this is increasingly significant, as the volume of bilateral trade has risen more than fivefold since 2019. Welcoming Wang Yi, Slovenian Foreign Minister T. Fajon noted that China is already the third-largest supplier of imported products. At the same time, she observed with some regret that Slovenia exports almost nothing to China. Nevertheless, talks with Wang Yi and other leaders of the country took place in an atmosphere of optimism about the future of bilateral relations.

As for Poland, the most noteworthy event occurred on the eve of Wang Yi’s visit. Poland closed its border with “the accomplice of Russian aggression,” namely Belarus, citing alleged Russian drone flights - which, in fact, it seems, were simply staged - as well as the Russian-Belarusian military exercises “Zapad-2025.” In doing so, Warsaw overlooked the fact that such measures disrupted one of China’s vital trade and transport routes to Europe.

As a result, by the time Wang Yi arrived, more than 130 container trains filled with Chinese goods destined for European traders had accumulated at Polish border crossings. Realizing the risks this posed not only for Poland’s relations with China but also with several European allies, Prime Minister D. Tusk ordered the immediate reopening of the checkpoints. Consequently, the 4th session of the bilateral Intergovernmental Committee, attended by Wang Yi and his Polish counterpart, R. Sikorski, went ahead smoothly. The final communiqué was written in entirely positive tones.

China Sends an “Arctic Express” to Europe

Experts estimate it will take at least ten days to clear the backlog of trains caused by the Polish-Belarusian border incident. The episode itself pushed China–Europe trade and transport companies to seek alternative overland routes, such as “via the Caspian Sea or St. Petersburg.”

An even more radical option is also emerging: the first attempt to use the Northern Sea Route to establish a new maritime transport corridor between China and Europe. On September 23, the container ship Istanbul Bridge, carrying one thousand standard containers of assorted goods, departed from Ningbo Port on China’s east coast. Its route will take it through the Bering Strait, along the Northern Sea Route, to its final destination at Felixstowe, United Kingdom. The journey will last 18 days, meaning Chinese goods will arrive in Europe twice as fast as by the current sea route through the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal.

This new route has already been dubbed the “Arctic Express.” Announcing its opening, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson declared China’s “readiness to cooperate with other Arctic states, including Russia.”

Beyond everything else, the event demonstrates China’s determination to strengthen and expand its ties with Europe, as well as to address the problems that inevitably arise along the way. Wang Yi’s third European tour of the year stands as further evidence of that determination.

Vladimir Terekhov, expert on the issues of the Asia-Pacific region. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2025/10/09/chinese-foreign-minister-wang-yi-undertakes-another-tour-of-europe/