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On May 6 and 7, Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to France to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Besides Paris, the strong man from Beijing is also expected alongside Emmanuel Macron in the Hautes-Pyrénées, a department dear to the French president.
This is a summit meeting that will live up to its name. As part of the state visit to France by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which will take place on May 6 and 7 to celebrate 60 years of relations between the two countries, the strong man from Beijing will be welcomed by Emmanuel Macron… in the Hautes-Pyrénées. The Élysée officially announced it yesterday morning.
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Next Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron will receive his Chinese counterpart at the Col du Tourmalet, “a mecca of French sporting culture”, specifies the Elysée. It is a site that is particularly close to the heart of the French president and his wife Brigitte who never miss an opportunity to come ski at La Mongie like last March. To mark the regular passage of the presidential skier, the Grand Tourmalet area has also had the bench seat and protections of the vehicle of the “Le Béarnais” chairlift used by the presidential couple reupholstered in blue, white and red…
“A framework for friendly exchange”
This welcome in the Hautes-Pyrénées will give a personal dimension to the visit of the Chinese head of state. A sequence intended to create “a framework for friendly exchange” between the two presidential couples. Diplomacy also involves direct relations. Last year, Xi Jinping received his guest in Guangzhou for a tea ceremony at the governor’s residence of Guangdong province, where his father, Xi Zhongxun, lived when he held that post from 1978 to 1981.
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Return to France: Hautes-Pyrénées, La Mongie, Bagnères-de-Bigorre mean a lot to Emmanuel Macron. It was there that as a child, he spent vacations with “Manette,” his grandmother. Françoise Noguès, this beloved grandmother who gave him a taste for reading and introduced him to the writer Maurice Genevoix, died in 2013.
Will Xi Jinping be able to climb to the Pic du Midi? The program for this Pyrenean day has not yet been specified by the Presidency of the Republic. But the weather, which is very changeable at 2,877 meters above sea level, could be decisive. On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron will not fail to invite his host to “l’Etape du berger”, the high-altitude restaurant near the Col du Tourmalet run by his friend Eric Abadie. The opportunity to let him taste the best local products from Bigorre. A setting that will inevitably contrast with the gold of the Elysée Palace, where, the evening before, Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan, were able to appreciate the splendor of the state dinner which was given in their honor, surrounded of Chinese artists.
There remain the burning issues of the planet: in Paris and before flying to Central Europe for the rest of his journey, “the new Mao” will discuss with Emmanuel Macron “on international crises, first and foremost the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, on trade issues, as well as on our common actions in the face of global issues, in particular the climate emergency, the protection of biodiversity and the financial situation of the most vulnerable countries”, detailed the Elysée .
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Paris evokes a very political visit, even if new Chinese investments in France are being negotiated, particularly in electric batteries. And French officials also intend to raise commercial issues, and defend “the interests” of the country “during and following” the anti-dumping investigation into cognac-type alcohol launched by the Chinese authorities. In an atmosphere, one imagines, less peaceful than the tranquility of the Pyrenean peaks.
