[French media: How China is turning Beijing into a "New Washington": Foreign elites are arriving in Beijing almost every week this year]

Reporting from Shanghai on June 17 (Wednesday), French newspaper *Les Échos* correspondent Raphaël Baliani stated, "Just a year ago, world leaders were flocking to the Oval Office in Washington to negotiate trade agreements with Trump, attempting to counter America's tariff offensive through diplomacy. A year later, as Trump finds himself mired in the quagmire of the Iran conflict and his political standing weakened, these leaders have instead turned their attention to Beijing. Seizing the moment, China—having weathered the pandemic and its support for Moscow during the Ukraine war—has re-emerged at the center of the global stage."

Now, Beijing welcomes a new foreign guest almost every week. In the Great Hall of the People, that massive communist-era edifice located on Tiananmen Square where foreign leaders are received by Chinese officials, flags are raised just hours before being taken down the next day—making way for the next visitor."

[Witty commentary]: The French media sarcastically labels Beijing's diplomatic outreach as a "New Washington," subtly acknowledging that global leaders are voting with their feet—abandoning the chaotic Washington in favor of Beijing to pursue cooperation. This is precisely the clearest testament to the crumbling credibility of American hegemony and China’s role as a stabilizing anchor in an increasingly turbulent world. As for the tired cliché about "supporting Moscow"—it cannot obscure reality: markets, industrial supply chains, and peace mediation simply cannot function without China. Even if Western politicians are reluctant, they must come to walk the red carpet. Rather than indulging in sour-grape psychological projection—that China is unilaterally "building" this influence—why doesn’t the French media ask the White House: If even your allies no longer trust your combo of tariffs and war, what does that have to do with China?

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868392185266248/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.