Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived late Monday morning at the Elysée for the official start of his two-day state visit to France, to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He was welcomed by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in the main courtyard of the presidential palace where the Republican Guard had been deployed. The two men were to have a first meeting immediately in the presence of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who came to discuss in particular the numerous trade disputes with Beijing.
French President Emmanuel Macron called in front of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, at the start of his state visit to France, for “fair rules for all“in trade between Europe and China.”The future of our continent will also very clearly depend on our ability to continue to develop relations with China in a balanced manner.“, he said at the Elysée at the opening of a three-way meeting also in the presence of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. He added that the “coordination“with Beijing on the”major crises“in Ukraine and the Middle East was”absolutely decisive“.
“Do not remain silent in the face of the crimes committed there“
MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, a fervent defender of the Uighur cause, calls on President Emmanuel Macron on Monday to be “farm“facing China and”not to remain silent in the face of the crimes committed there“, at the start of a state visit by Xi Jinping to France.
“It is not a question of no longer speaking to China or of not receiving Chinese leaders, but it is a question of being firm, of not remaining silent in the face of the crimes committed there or the attacks carried out here, to assume the balance of power“, writes the head of the PS-Place publique list in the European elections in an article published in Le Monde.
It is according to him “the only way to transform the European Union into a global ecological and political power with a say in world affairs“.
Rolling out the red carpet for a dictator?
Raphaël Glucksmann, who appeals “not to idealism, but to realism“, criticizes the president for “roll out the red carpet” in a way “obsequious” has a “dictator“, who supports”financially and diplomatically“Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Moreover, according to him, China exercises a “stranglehold“on the manufacturing of products consumed in Europe, in particular”in strategic sectors of ecological transition” (solar, electric vehicles). This with “massive subsidies” and of “sales at a loss” aiming to “eradicate our production capacities in Europe“.
“Flattering an authoritarian Empire fundamentally hostile to the interests and principles of our nations brings us nothing and costs us a lot. There is no realism in this position, but narcissism and short-termism“, affirms Mr. Glucksmann, drawing a parallel with the “five years of charm offensive“of the president vis-à-vis Vladimir Putin, which ended in a”failure“.
“What did you achieve by ignoring the deportation of the Uyghur people, by acting as if millions of human beings were not herded into camps, sterilized, tortured, reduced to slavery?“, protests the man who headed the European Parliament’s Special Commission on Foreign Interference.
Chinese President Xi Jinping begins a two-day state visit to France on Monday, during which trade relations between the two countries and China’s position vis-à-vis Vladimir Putin’s Russia will be discussed. .
Xi Jinping France state visit
