China is experiencing the biggest wave of protests in decades – and now, of all times, EU Council President Charles Michel is traveling to Beijing. Members of the EU Parliament are calling on him to send a clear signal in support of freedom of expression, for example, in the form of a white leaf, like those carried by demonstrators in the People’s Republic. For President Xi, on the other hand, the meeting comes just at the right time because the EU-US dialogue on China is taking place in Washington almost simultaneously. Michel’s trip – a „mission impossible,“ writes Amelie Richter.