Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Paris on Monday on his first visit in five years to discuss trade and the military conflict in Ukraine, NBC News reports (updated at 12:44 p.m.)
In a statement issued upon arrival, Xi praised ties between the two countries despite trade tensions related to a European Union investigation into Chinese electric car exports and Beijing’s investigation into imports of predominantly French-made brandy.
French President Emmanuel Macron has said at the meeting that Europe’s future depends on its ability to develop a balanced relationship with China. He noted:
The international situation certainly obliges us more than ever to promote European-Chinese dialogue.
Macron called for “meeting and overcoming structural difficulties”, particularly in the economy, where “the logic of division can be detrimental”. He also added:
We would like to share with you this morning, in an atmosphere of friendship and trust, both the points on which we agree and our concerns to try to overcome them, because the future of our continent will undoubtedly also depend on our ability to continue to develop a balanced relationship with China, which is what we want.
Xi said ties between China and France were “a model for the international community of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems”. The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s flagship paper, wrote:
China-EU economic and trade cooperation is huge, and bumps and bruises are inevitable. China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with the EU, promote cooperation and resolve differences through dialogue.
The Global Times wrote that “China’s desire to expand cooperation with Europe and support Europe’s strategic autonomy remains unwavering.”
The 27 EU members – notably France and Germany – are not united in their attitude towards China. While Paris favours a tougher line on the EV probe, Berlin wants to proceed more cautiously, sources said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not join Macron and Xi in Paris because of earlier commitments, the sources said. Macron said in an interview with French newspaper La Tribune ahead of Xi’s two-day visit:
In Europe, we are not unanimous on the subject because certain players still see China as essentially a market of opportunities.
A China Daily editorial said that Ukraine is one of the top agenda items for European leaders visiting China. It said, adding that China could maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with both Ukraine and Russia:
China and Europe can work together to push for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.
German government spokesman Wolfgang Büchner said on Friday that Scholz in China “made it clear that overcapacity and competition must be addressed despite subsidies.”
Officials said France also hopes to push for the opening of the Chinese market to its agricultural exports and to address the French cosmetics industry’s concerns over intellectual property rights. China, meanwhile, may announce an order for about 50 Airbus aircraft during Xi’s visit.
Xi Jinping’s visit to Paris marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations and follows Macron’s trip to China in April 2023. Macron sparked controversy during that trip after saying France would not blindly follow the US into crises that do not concern it, an apparent reference to China’s demands for unification with Taiwan.
Xi will first take part in a meeting with Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Monday. The second day of the visit is expected to be a more personal moment. Macron has invited Xi Jinping to visit on Tuesday the Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees, where the French leader visited his grandmother as a child. The trip is intended as a reciprocal gesture after Xi Jinping last year took Macron to the governor’s residence in Guangdong province, where his father once lived.
