World Today China Plus

Chinese President Xi Jinping is wrapping up a six-day tour in Europe. The trip took him to France, Serbia and Hungary. This was his first European trip in five years.
What has he accomplished through the three-nation tour? What key messages have been sent out? And what does the future hold for China-Europe relations?
Host Zhao Ying is joined by Dr. Jin Ling, Senior Research Fellow and Director of the Department for European Studies at China Institute of International Studies; Dr. George Tzogopoulos, Director of EU-China Programmes and Senior Research Fellow at European Institute of Nice; Ren Ke, Senior journalist of Xinhua News Agency.

China and Hungary have decided to elevate bilateral relations to all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for the new era during talks between visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest.
When meeting the press, President Xi called on both sides to further promote bilateral ties and cooperation. The two leaders witnessed the signing of 18 cooperation agreements covering areas such as trade and investment, nuclear energy and science and technology.
This is President Xi's first state visit to Hungary, the final stop of his three-nation European tour, which also took him to France and Serbia.
How significant is China and Hungary's "all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership"? What can we expect from further cooperation between the two nations?
Host Xu Yawen is joined by Mike Bastin, a China observer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Southampton in the UK.

① Xi Jinping is in Hungary for the last leg of his Europe tour. Why have China and Hungary maintained cordial relations? (00:58)
② China’s imports and exports have returned to growth, beating market expectations. (13:49)
③ Joe Biden says he will stop supplying some weapons to Israel if Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of Rafah. Could this be a turning point in the conflict between Israel and Hamas? (24:47)
④ The US has revoked Intel and Qualcomm’s licenses to sell AI chips to Huawei. How could a restrictive US approach to China’s AI development affect the establishment of an AI dialogue mechanism between Beijing and Washington? (34:15)
⑤ Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia are exploring the creation of an exchange-traded fund tracking Hong Kong stock indexes. We explore the reasons behind the two sides’ move to seek investment opportunities from each other. (44:01)

① China and Serbia have agreed to upgrade their ties to jointly build a China-Serbia community of shared future. What are the key factors behind the highlights in bilateral ties? (00:52)
② We take a look at the first-quarter GDPs across China’s provincial regions. (13:26)
③ What is the prospect of Putin’s fifth term as Russia’s president? (25:11)
④ Inflation has forced Argentina to circulate its first 10,000-peso banknotes. Is there an easy way out of the country’s hyperinflation? (34:34)
⑤ The US Commerce Department is hearing testimony on whether to designate Vietnam as a "market economy". Is granting that status to the Asian country part of Washington’s strategy to make Vietnam a counterbalance to China? (45:01)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Serbia for a state visit. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic held a welcome ceremony for the Chinese leader at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.
In a statement issued upon his arrival, the Chinese president spoke highly of the traditional friendship between the two sides. He also said he looks forward to taking this visit as an opportunity to have in-depth exchange of views with President Vucic on the bilateral relationship and other issues of mutual interest, renew friendship, plan for cooperation and explore development.
President Xi Jinping arrived in Serbia after concluding his state visit to France. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife held a farewell ceremony for the Chinese leader in the town of Tarbes.
So what are the highlights of President Xi Jinping's state visit to France? What can we expect from his time in Serbia? Host Liu Kun is joined by Chen Weihua, China Daily EU Bureau Chief.

① During Xi Jinping's visit to France, China and France have issued a few joint statements to strengthen cooperation and coordination in areas ranging from agriculture to AI. Why is cooperation the mainstream tone in the relations? (00:53)
② Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron jointly call for the “concrete implementation” of a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestine conflict. We look at the consensus between Beijing and Paris on the Gaza crisis, as well as the latest in the negotiations of a ceasefire deal. (12:52)
③ The Eurozone economy expands at fastest pace in nearly a year. (24:43)
④ China's top climate envoy has embarked on a trip to the United States for talks with his US counterpart. What could we expect? (34:59)
⑤ Chinese provinces are rolling out policies to incentivize companies to offer flexible job roles so as to make it easier for women to balance work and childcare. Does this model offer effective relief of burden for women who want to give birth to babies? (45:24)