The war in Ukraine will notably be on the agenda. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected on a state visit to France on May 6 and 7 by Emmanuel Macron who will also take him to the Hautes-Pyrénées for a more personal detour, the Élysée announced on Monday. “This visit comes on the occasion of 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and follows the visit of the President of the Republic to Beijing and Canton in April 2023,” his services said in a press release.
“The discussions will focus on international crises, first and foremost the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, trade issues, scientific, cultural and sporting cooperation as well as our common actions in the face of global issues, in particular climate emergency, the protection of biodiversity and the financial situation of the most vulnerable countries,” added the French presidency.
This is the start of the Chinese president’s first European tour to Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Chinese president and his wife Peng Liyuan will be received on May 6 by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in Paris, where a state dinner is planned at the Élysée. On May 7, the two couples will travel to the Hautes-Pyrénées where the French head of state wants to share a more intimate moment with his counterpart. Emmanuel Macron actually went there a lot in his childhood to visit his maternal grandmother, Germaine Noguès, who died in 2013 and who lived in Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
China, an important economic ally of Russia
A year ago in China, Emmanuel Macron called on Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to reason” with regard to Ukraine “and everyone to the negotiating table”. The Chinese president then said, face to face, that he was ready to call his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the French delegation. The phone call actually took place shortly after. But the diplomatic progress expected by Paris on the Russian-Ukrainian front stopped there.
A year later, the French analysis has not changed: Beijing remaining Moscow’s main political and economic ally, dialogue with the Chinese superpower on the Ukrainian conflict remains a priority. “We must continue to engage China which, objectively, is the international actor which has the most important levers to change Moscow’s calculations,” says a French diplomatic Source, while recognizing that it does not Don’t expect a major turning point overnight.
Calling for a peace solution, the Chinese authorities, who officially say they are neutral, have never condemned the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit China in May. “France, through this visit, demonstrates that it is one of the very rare countries in the world to be able to maintain channels of discussion at all levels with the second largest economic power in the world, with China, in a context where it there is a tense relationship with the United States and the United Kingdom. It is an added value which is specific to France,” we further argue from a diplomatic Source.
Lobbying against Russia’s ‘senseless campaign’ in Ukraine
At the beginning of April 2024, French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné also called on Beijing to pass “messages” to Russia on the war in Ukraine, during a press conference held with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. “China plays a key role in the independence, respect for international law including the sovereignty of Ukraine,” added the head of French diplomacy.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had already asked President Xi in Beijing in mid-April to put pressure on Moscow to stop its “insane campaign” in Ukraine, while affirming German-Chinese support for a peace conference planned for June in Switzerland.
The Chinese number one also received last week the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, with whom he called on the United States to “be partners, not rivals”. The American Secretary of State, for his part, said he had expressed his concerns to China regarding the support provided to Russia, affirming that the invasion of Ukraine would be more “difficult” without the support of Beijing.
Xi Jinping is then expected to visit Serbia, according to media reports, then he is expected in Hungary from May 8 to 10.
