President Xi Jinping praised the relationship between China and France as a model for the international community during an unusual visit to Paris amid intensifying trade tensions with the EU.
French President Emmanuel Macron will ask Mr. Xi to reduce trade imbalances and use leverage against Russia over the Ukraine war. Mr. Xi is scheduled to meet with Mr. Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.
President Xi Jinping, who was welcomed by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in Paris, said in a statement upon his arrival that the relationship between China and France is “a model for the international community of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems.” He said that. .
in another editorial The Chinese president said he would visit France with three messages, according to the paper, which was published in the French daily Le Figaro. To be more open to the world and to protect world peace and stability.
“While China is opening up itself, it is also encouraging Chinese companies to expand globally,” Xi wrote. “France is re-industrializing based on green innovation, while China is accelerating the development of new, high-quality production capacity.”
Regarding the Ukraine war, he wrote that China “understands the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the people of Europe.” He stressed that the Chinese government is neither a “party nor a participant,” adding: “China is playing a constructive role in efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the crisis.”
This will be Xi’s first trip to Europe since 2019, and he will also visit Serbia and Hungary.
One of Macron’s key priorities is to warn Xi about the dangers of Russian support in the invasion of Ukraine, and Western officials say Russia is already using Chinese machine tools to produce weapons. I am concerned that there are
The West wants above all that China does not supply Russia with weapons and risk upsetting the balance of the conflict.
“It is in our interest to ask China for its opinion on the stability of the international order,” Macron said in an interview with The Economist newspaper published Thursday.
“Therefore, we must work with China to build peace,” he added.
France also supports the European Union’s investigation into China’s electric vehicle exports, and in January the Chinese government launched an investigation into imports, mainly French brandy. It is widely seen as retaliation.
In an interview with French newspaper La Tribune ahead of President Xi’s first two-day visit in five years, Macron said: “We want to achieve reciprocity in exchanges and take into account economic security factors.” Stated.
Ms von der Leyen said on Monday she would seek “fair” competition with China in her talks with President Xi.
“We must act to ensure competition is fair and not distorted,” he said, adding: “We have made clear that the current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and need to be addressed. ” he added.
The European Commission, which oversees trade matters in the European Union, has launched a number of competition investigations into China in recent months.
The Chinese government has reacted harshly to the latest investigation into alleged unfair access to China’s medical equipment market, calling it a sign of EU “protectionism”.
The EU’s 27 member states, particularly France and Germany, are divided over their attitudes toward China.
According to sources familiar with the matter, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not accompany Macron and Xi in Paris due to prior commitments.
“In Europe, there is no unanimity on this, because some parties still see China essentially as a market of opportunity,” Macron said, without mentioning the country by name.
France will also seek to advance the opening of China’s market to agricultural exports and resolve issues surrounding the French cosmetics industry’s concerns over intellectual property rights, officials said.
China may announce an order for about 50 Airbus planes during Xi’s visit, but whether that will result in a new deal remains unclear, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
On Tuesday, President Macron will take Mr Xi to the Pyrenees, a mountainous region dear to the French president as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother, before heading to Serbia and Hungary.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
