Xi Jinping arrived in France for his first European tour since 2019

Returning for the first time to Europe since 2019, the number one Asian superpower organized his tour under the theme of diplomatic balance: after the state visit to France, which has been asking him for a year to use his influence to “bring Russia to reason”, Xi Jinping will visit Serbia and Hungary, two countries that have remained close to Moscow.

May, President Xi Jinping arrived by plane in Paris to begin a state visit to France”,”text”:”On the afternoon of May 5, President Xi Jinping arrived by plane in Paris to begin a state visit to France”}}”>On the afternoon of May 5, President Xi Jinping arrived by plane in Paris for the start of his state visit to Franceindicated the official Chinese television CCTV.

He was welcomed by the French Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, at Paris’s Orly airport.

On Monday, Xi Jinping, who is coming to celebrate 60 years of Franco-Chinese diplomatic relations, will continue meetings with Emmanuel Macron, who consulted in advance with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

In the morning, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will join the Franco-Chinese duo at the Élysée for a session which should make it possible to raise trade disputes.

And they are many. Threatened with being caught between the American and Chinese economies, massively aided by public authorities, the European Union has in recent months increased investigations into Chinese state subsidies to several industrial sectors, in particular to electric vehicles, accused of distorting competition.

In an interview given to The gallery SundayEmmanuel Macron recognizes that Europeans are not not unanimous on the strategy to adopt, because, he says, some players still see China as essentially a market of opportunities while exports massively to Europe.

He pleads for better protect our national security, be much more realistic in defending our interests And obtain reciprocity.

In Beijing, these measures judged protectionists go badly. The Chinese authorities have launched their own anti-subsidy investigation mainly targeting French cognac, against which the French president intends to speak out.

Although no major contract was announced at this stage, discussions on investments were ongoing until the end. A Franco-Chinese economic forum is also planned for Monday at the Marigny theater.

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In the afternoon, after a formal welcome ceremony with great fanfare at the Invalides, and before a banquet at the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping will meet face-to-face for the most political sequence, then will speak to the press.

The Frenchman intends to ask the Chinese to support the Olympic Truce for’set of conflicts during the Paris Games this summer.

Paris wants at a minimum ensure that China, the main ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, does not fall into clear support for his war effort against kyiv, or even encourage him to use the levers which it has in relation to Moscow for contribute to a resolution of this conflictaccording to the Élysée.

Emmanuel Macron carried this same message a year ago, during his own state visit to China, and the results were modest.

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For Marc Julienne, researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, this approach reveals a lack of understanding of Beijing’s interests and strategywants stay away from conflict and does not hear not get more involved, neither in the sense of the Europeans nor in the sense of military support for Russia.

The French president will nevertheless try to drive the point home on Tuesday, in the Pyrenees, during a more personal getaway between the two men, accompanied by their wives.

The objective of this lunch on the Col du Tourmalet, where, as a child, he spent his holidays with his grandmother, is eminently diplomatic: to break the imposing protocol to establish a more direct dialogue, particularly on Ukraine.

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On the sensitive issue of human rights, Emmanuel Macron says he prefers to discuss disagreements behind closed doors. Paris also did not want to present the Taiwan issue as a priority, even though it is at the heart of the strong tensions between the United States and China.

Several hundred Tibetan activists gathered on Sunday on Place de la République in Paris to denounce China as a predator And a colonial regime. No to Chinese totalitarianismcould we read on a banner.

From Wednesday to Friday, Xi Jinping will then go to Serbia and Hungary.