Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation on Thursday, during which the two leaders discussed international and regional issues, including the Ukrainian crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Iranian nuclear issue.
“It is necessary to seize opportunities to deepen co-operation in traditional areas such as investment, space and nuclear energy,” the Chinese leader said. He also said that China and France should expand co-operation in new areas, including digital, green, biomedicine and the silver economy.
Xi Jinping noted that the European Union should continue to strengthen its independence. He also stated the need to make joint efforts to protect the international legal order, support the role of the UN, and maintain stable international trade rules.
Meanwhile, Macron asked Xi Jinping to give French companies greater access to the Chinese market and not to impose tariffs on French cognac producers, who are the subject of an ongoing investigation in China.
Macron also promised to co-operate with China to achieve an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” in Ukraine. Calling for peace and security in the Middle East, Macron said that France and China would work together to prepare for the June conference in New York dedicated to resolving the two-state issue.
