Sébastien Le Belzic, edited by Yanis Darras
modified to
10:00 a.m., September 12, 2022
In China, the disappearance of Queen Elizabeth II provokes emotion. The Queen was the first British monarch to visit the People’s Republic of China in 1986. In the official press, Chinese President Xi Jinping called the Queen’s disappearance “a great loss for the British people”.
After 70 years of reign, Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday at the age of 96. She leaves her place to her son, Charles, who becomes for the occasion Charles III. Since the announcement of his death, tributes have multiplied around the world, including in China. Chinese President Xi Jinping thus expressed his sadness, stressing “a great loss for the British people”. Because the Middle Kingdom had a special relationship with Elizabeth.
“An old friend of China”
The Queen of England was, in 1986, the first monarch to visit the People’s Republic of China. A visit to historic times that came shortly after grueling negotiations between the UK and communist China over the return of Hong Kong, then a British colony.
Since his death, the official press has widely circulated photos of his visit to the Great Wall as well as the reception at Buckingham Palace of current President Xi Jinping. For many Chinese, Queen Elizabeth embodied the best face of the West. “Every time our political leaders went to the United Kingdom or she came to visit us here, the atmosphere was excellent. I think we can call her an old friend of China”, explains this Pekingese.
Tense atmosphere between London and Beijing
The death of Elizabeth II imposes a truce in a currently degraded atmosphere between London and Beijing. If Xi Jinping hopes to keep good relations with Charles III, it will be quite different with the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who describes China as a threat to national security.