China’s new ambassadors + mineral monitoring + EU-China in Draghi report

In this issue of Europe China 360°, we cover the following topics:

• Diplomatic tea leaves: What China’s new ambassadors mean for its EU relations
• China is monitoring the exports of another mineral the Europeans need 
• Draghi calls for an EU ripe for competition with China 

Diplomatic tea leaves: What China’s new ambassadors mean for its EU relations

By Claus Soong and Grzegorz Stec

While Brussels spent the summer reshuffling EU Commissioner roles after the European elections in June, China reassigned many ambassadors across Europe. Between May and August, China put new ambassadors in place in 30 countries around the world. New envoys are taking up posts in the EU, Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark Malta, and, outside of the EU, in Switzerland and Belarus. 

The appointments are a tactical preparation for upcoming political transitions after elections in Europe and the US, and they may offer early signals of Beijing’s priorities toward Europe in the post-election reality. 

Beijing gears up to struggle for stability

Changing up its ambassadors aligns with China’s new "Diplomatic Front," outlined during China’s Foreign Affairs Working Conference in late 2023 and the Third Plenum in mid-2024. Both meetings emphasized building a "benign external environment" (良好外部环境), which means minimizing criticism of China as disruptive to the rules-based international order and countering outside pressures. Pressure from China’s embattled economy is likely contributing to the desire for external stability. 

Beijing wants to prevent Europe from further aligning itself with US measures targeting China and to stabilize its relationships with key players like Germany by defusing the EU’s de-risking measures. Its foreign policy priority is to develop stability by limiting disruptions unfavorable to China while maintaining a "struggle" (斗争) mindset. This mindset sees international relations as a zero-sum game and reduces the space for practical cooperation and compromise in a diplomatic setting. 

This personnel changes will likely be paired with intensified United Front tactics, which "engage with 'old friends' and co-opt various actors to find common ground,” as senior foreign policy officials stated after the 20th Party Congress in 2022. This approach uses diplomatic practices to sideline and undermine critics of China and to find prospective channels and people to speak for China using its official narrative. Finding such “friends” and appointing diplomats who can strengthen these connections is essential for China to exert its influence.