The Chinese president will be in France on May 6 and 7 to discuss international crises with Emmanuel Macron, including the war in Ukraine, but also to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
This is the start of the Chinese president’s first European tour to Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected on a state visit to France next week, the Elysée announced this Monday, April 29.
With his wife Peng Liyuan, they will be received on Monday May 6 by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in Paris, where a state dinner is planned at the Élysée. Tuesday May 7, the two couples will go to the Hautes-Pyrénées where the French head of state wants to share a more intimate moment with his counterpart. He 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. Last year, Xi Jinping received the President of the Republic in Guangzhou for a tea ceremony in the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father, Xi Zhongxun, lived when he held this post from 1978 to 1981 .
According to the French presidency, “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 visit comes after that of the French president to Beijing and Canton in April 2023, his services recalled in a press release. A year ago in China, Emmanuel Macron called on Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to its senses” towards Ukraine “and everyone at 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.
“Most important levers”
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 with the most important levers to change Moscow’s calculation,” we slip from a French diplomatic Source, while recognizing that we should not 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’s an added value that is specific to France.”we still say from a diplomatic Source.
The visit to France will mark the start of Xi Jinping’s first tour of Europe since the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the Asian giant cut off many interactions with the rest of the world for a long time. He should then go to Serbia, according to media reports, then he is expected in Hungary from May 8 to 10.
