'Fake news': China denies that President Xi Jinping invited European leaders for meeting in Beijing

As tensions fray between Beijing and the bloc, China has denied a report that claimed that President Xi Jinping had invited top European leaders to meet him.

Referencing the report published in the South China Morning Post, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said “I don’t know what’s their source of information.” “I can tell you that is fake news,” he added.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the newspaper had reported that French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi had been asked to meet the Chinese president in Beijing this November.

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Interestingly, if the meeting would have taken place it would have clashed with the G20 summit along with a major Communist Party congress in China.

Due to the nation’s zero-tolerance virus strategy, Jinping has not left China since the outset of the pandemic in January 2020 and this meeting would have marked his return to in-person diplomacy with the West.

With an exception made for the Beijing Olympics, foreign dignitaries visiting China during the pandemic have typically been hosted in cities such as Tianjin.

Weeks before Moscow invaded Ukraine, Jinping declared a “no limits” friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin at that time.

According to an earlier statement from the European Commission, news of the invitations comes as the European Union and China prepare to hold a high-level dialogue on economy and trade Tuesday.

In the first official visit by a high-ranking member of the bloc’s legislative body, European Parliament Vice President Nicola Beer landed in Taiwan on Tuesday.

Over accusations of human rights abuse in Xinjiang, relations between China and European Union members soured leading to the freezing of a long-awaited investment deal.

(With inputs from agencies)

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