Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the European continent for the first time in about five years as tensions mount over a range of issues including trade, spy allegations and Beijing’s support for Russia.

Xi will make stops in France, Serbia and Hungary during the trip that runs May 5-10, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Monday, without providing details of the Chinese leader’s agenda.

Beijing is pushing to repair relations with Europe after Brussels toughened its stance over China’s trade policies. European leaders have pushed back against China’s surge in manufacturing capacity, its massive trade surplus and its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A flurry of spying accusations in recent days also reflects the continent’s more assertive stance on Beijing’s espionage activities.

The tour is “vitally important to promote ties between China and France, Serbia, Hungary and the EU at large”, Lin Jian, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a regular briefing on Monday. Xi will meet with the leaders of the three nations during his visit, Lin added.

Xi is expected to visit Belgrade around the 25th anniversary of the deadly US bombing of the city’s Chinese embassy. That could spotlight an event that sparked anti-US protests at home and helped seed Beijing’s distrust of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).

  - Bloomberg