Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron attend the official welcoming ceremony in Beijing on April 6, 2023.
Ludovic Marin | AFP | beautiful images
Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Paris on Sunday for a rare visit, while his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron will press him to ease the trade imbalance and try to persuade him to use his influence. towards Russia in the war in Ukraine.
Neither goal will be easily accomplished during Xi’s two-day stay in France, where he arrives at a time of rising trade tensions between Europe and China.
France is backing a European Union investigation into China’s electric vehicle exports and in January Beijing opened an investigation into imports of spirits – most of which are made in France – a move The move was widely seen as retaliation amid growing EU investigations.
“We must continue to push the Chinese authorities to provide us with more assurances on trade issues,” an Elysee Palace adviser said ahead of Xi’s visit, his first to Asia. Europe after 5 years.
Mr Xi is expected to arrive at around 4pm (14:00 GMT). His official meetings will include joint talks with Mr Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.
Divisions within the European Union’s 27 members – and especially between France and Germany – weaken their ability to influence China. Sources said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not join Macron and Xi in Paris due to previous commitments.
“Leverage will go out the window if European leaders send different messages to Xi,” said Noah Barkin, a senior adviser at Rhodium Group and a close follower of EU-China relations. .
France will also seek to make progress in opening the Chinese market to its agricultural exports and address issues surrounding the French cosmetics industry’s concerns about property rights, officials said. intellectual property.
Ukraine negotiations
France is keen to push China to put pressure on Moscow to stop its activities in Ukraine, but so far there has been little progress, except for Xi Jinping’s decision to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time. first shortly after Mr. Macron visited Beijing last year.
Advisor Elysee said: “China is one of Russia’s main partners, our goal is to use the leverage it has over Moscow to change Russia’s calculus and help contribute to resolving the conflict. sudden”.
A French diplomatic source said: “If the Chinese seek to deepen relations with European partners, it is really important that they listen to our point of view and start to see take it seriously.”
On Tuesday, Mr. Macron will take Mr. Xi to the Pyrenees, a mountain he especially loves because it is the birthplace of his grandmother.
This gesture was intended to recall Xi Jinping’s decision to bring Macron to a tea party at Xi’s father’s former residence in Guangzhou city.
“Macron is always in a charming mode, he is trying to attract foreign leaders to his side by establishing personal relationships with them,” Barkin said.
“But I hope that he is under no illusion that bringing Mr. Xi to a position that has been important to him since childhood will bring Mr. Xi to tears and lead to compromise from Beijing.”
Xi will leave France on Tuesday afternoon for Russia-friendly Serbia and Hungary.
