NAfter meeting the German Chancellor in Beijing that morning, China’s President once again praised the friendship of all peoples in the evening. “Openness is the key force in the advancement of human civilization,” Xi Jinping said in a video address opening the China International Import Expo (CIIE).
China’s state leader himself launched the Shanghai Fair in 2018 to demonstrate that his country is not just flooding the world with cheap goods and causing huge trade deficits there. The Chinese nation is ready, Xi said Friday, to “share the opportunities in its vast market” with “all countries and all parties.”
In a speech that was also transmitted via video, the Belarusian dictator Alexandr Lukashenko then greeted the Shanghai Hall and praised the fair as “one of the most important economic innovations in the world”. The ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “international cooperation based on equality and mutual respect”.
Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council, was also asked by the organizer for a virtual greeting. That had arrived in Shanghai on time, but had a different emphasis. Michel condemned “Russia’s illegal war on Ukraine”. He called on Beijing to use its influence on Moscow to “end the brutal war”. That was obviously too much for the organizers. They took the video speech out of the program.
Michel’s team rejected self-censorship
This only became known on Tuesday when the Reuters news agency reported on it. Michel’s spokesman confirmed the process. “Indeed, as requested by the Chinese authorities, we had delivered a pre-recorded message, which was ultimately not shown,” he said. This was discussed through the usual diplomatic channels. An EU official told the FAZ that they do not want to play up the process. That is why Michel’s six-minute speech will not be published. But the process has caused deep irritation in Brussels, especially since it has an even more piquant history.
According to the official, Michel recorded his video message on Wednesday last week, after which it was sent to the organizers. They asked Michel’s team on Thursday to cut out some passages. So a clear act of censorship. It focused on this part of the speech: “China has a role to play in using its influence to end Russia’s brutal war . . . through your so-called ‘borderless’ partnership with Russia. You, China, can help end this.” This alluded to the friendship pact signed by Presidents Xi and Putin just before the start of the war.
