President Xi’s Maiden Voyage to Europe

by+Duan+Wei

On March 22， 2014， Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Amsterdam for a state visit to the Netherlands and the third Nuclear Security Summit held in The Hague， kicking off his first European tour as Chinas head of state.

The Netherlands was the first leg of Xis European trip， followed by state visits to France， Germany， and Belgium. He also visited UNESCO and EU headquarters. During his European trip， Xi met with leaders of several countries and delivered a number of important speeches.

Xi became the first Chinese President to visit the Netherlands， UNESCO headquarters， and the EU headquarters. According to Qu Xing， president of China Institute of International Studies， Xis European trip signaled Chinas willingness to support European integration and deepen Sino-European relations， thus giving fresh perspective to the Sino-EU comprehensive strategic partnership under new circumstances.