Xi Jinping to visit France, Hungary and Serbia amid EU trade tariff row

An image of Xi Jinping with Emmanuel Macron displayed at the Auto China show in Beijing last month highlights that tariffs on importing Chinese electric vehicle into Europe may be discussed when they meet again next week. Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is to visit Europe next week for the first time in five years, in a tour that will take in the unlikely trifecta of France, Hungary and Serbia.

The visit comes as China pushes to avoid a trade war with the EU, while attitudes towards Beijing in the bloc are hardening after multiple spying scandals and China’s ongoing support for Russia in the war in Ukraine.