French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a state visit to France from May 6-7, to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. A visit long announced and eagerly awaited on the French side. Emmanuel Macron hopes to take advantage of this moment of proximity with the Chinese president to build on their personal relationship and move forward on diplomatic and economic issues.
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Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping know each other well. The French head of state has visited China several times and the Chinese president is on his second state visit to France since 2017. To receive him, this time again, the small dishes were put in the big ones. The first day of this trip is organized in Paris with talks at the Élysée, a ceremony with a review of the troops at the Invalides, economic meetings at the Marigny theater and a large state dinner in the presidential palace where the two presidents will make the traditional toasts.
But Emmanuel Macron also wanted to add a personal touch by organizing a getaway to the Col du Tourmalet in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the region of origin of his grandmother, the one where he spent his holidays, to which he returns regularly and which he wants to do discover to his counterpart, as the latter had done to him “ honor » to receive it on a “ very personal site » in Canton in 2023 during Emmanuel Macron’s last trip to China. Enough to give a more intimate tone to this very formal visit and of high diplomatic interest. China is indeed a great world power, a key player on the international scene, a partner with whom France wants to discuss.
Intimacy and diplomacy
One of the challenges of this visit is therefore to speak with Xi Jinping about major international crises and especially Ukraine. China is one of Russia’s main partners. Emmanuel Macron hopes, according to the Élysée, to encourage Xi Jinping to “ use your levers on Moscow in order to change the calculations » of Vladimir Putin and “ contribute to a resolution of the conflict “. In the entourage of the French president, we recall as an encouraging sign that in April 2023, Xi Jinping agreed to call Volodymyr Zelensky to hear his vision on the conflict with Russia after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China. One of the thorny issues this year is that of Chinese companies directly participating in the Russian war effort. Emmanuel Macron’s position has hardened considerably against Moscow in recent months. The Head of State further stated in an interview with The Economist that Russia should not win the war, that it represented a danger to European security. And according to him, “ It is not in China’s interest to have a Russia that destabilizes the international order… We must therefore work with China to build peace”.
In this interview, Emmanuel Macron also discusses the economic and commercial issues which will be on the agenda of his discussions with Xi Jinping. The president’s ambition is in particular to improve ” access of French companies to the Chinese market » and to build economic relations placed under the sign of “ reciprocity “. Strategic sectors of competition are identified: electric vehicles, photovoltaics, wind power. On the occasion of this visit, Emmanuel Macron wants to promote French, but also European, interests. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is also invited to Paris to meet Xi Jinping. Faced with China, Emmanuel Macron also wants to present himself as a European.
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