Xi Jinping’s visit to France | Firm exchanges on global trade

(Paris) Trade disagreements marked the start of a two-day state visit to France on Monday by Xi Jinping, who brushed aside European concerns over the firmness displayed by Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

If the three leaders, gathered together in the morning at the Élysée, pretended to want to move in the same direction on the subject of the war in Ukraine, the other major issue of the moment, they did not try to hide the tensions building up on trade.

The French president explained that he wanted to raise “in all friendship and trust” the “concerns, to try to overcome them”, calling for “fair” trade rules.

The European Union “will not hesitate to take firm decisions” to “protect its economy and its security”, underlined Ursula Von der Leyen, present to display, as she did five years ago in the same place and last year in China, a united continental front on trade issues.

She had previously warned that Europe could “not accept” “unfair trade” caused by the influx of electric vehicles or Chinese steel manufactured with “massive subsidies”.

“The so-called “problem of China’s overcapacity” does not exist,” Xi Jinping replied, estimating that “China’s new energy industry” on the contrary “made it possible to increase global supply and ‘relieve the pressure of global inflation’.

Trade disputes are numerous and could lead to increases in customs taxes. Threatened to be 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, particularly electric vehicles.

The French president recognized, in the newspaper La Tribune Sunday, that the Europeans were “not unanimous” on their strategy. A barely veiled dig at Germany, often accused of going it alone to preserve its car exports to the second largest economic power in the world.

In Beijing, European measures are considered “protectionist”. The Chinese authorities have launched their own anti-subsidy investigation mainly targeting French cognac, against which the French president intends to speak out.

Emmanuel Macron, who still hopes to position his country as a “balancing power” in the face of the Sino-American standoff, celebrates 60 years of bilateral diplomatic relations with his Chinese counterpart, who arrived the day before in Paris for his first European tour since 2019 A formal welcome ceremony with great fanfare took place at Les Invalides, to the sound of the military fanfare.

” Red carpet ”

The international situation “requires this Euro-Chinese dialogue more than ever”, the French head of state said on Monday, while some of his opponents, such as the Socialist candidate for the European elections in June Raphaël Glucksmann, criticize him for “unrolling the red carpet” in an “obsequious” manner to a “dictator”.

In the afternoon, the Franco-Chinese duo met at the presidential palace for a more political tête-à-tête which will be followed by statements to the press and a banquet.

The opportunity to address the Russian invasion of Ukraine in more depth.

In the morning, M^me von der Leyen said she was “confident” that China can continue to temper Russian nuclear threats. Mr Macron had already called for “decisive” coordination on the war in Ukraine. In Paris, there is talk of a personal commitment from the Chinese number one not to export weapons to the Russian army, and to strictly control goods that could be used for military purposes.

The Frenchman intends to ask the Chinese to support the “Olympic truce” during the Paris Games this summer (July 26-August 11).

Paris wants to at least ensure that China, the main ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, does not fall into clear support for his war effort against Kyiv. Even “encourage it to use the levers” it has over Moscow to “contribute to a resolution of this conflict”, according to the Élysée.

Pyrenean getaway

Mr. Macron brought this same message a year ago to China, with modest results.

In return, Xi Jinping wanted consensus, ensuring that China, France and the EU all wanted “a rapid ceasefire and the return of peace to Europe”. “The three parties must together […] create the conditions for peace talks,” he said, according to the press release from Chinese diplomacy.

But he continues to show his support for Russia, and will go after France to Serbia and Hungary, two countries that have remained close to Moscow, before probably receiving President Putin in China.

The French president will drive the point home on Tuesday, in the Pyrenees, during a more personal getaway with his Chinese counterpart.

On the sensitive issue of human rights, Emmanuel Macron says he prefers to discuss “disagreements” rather “behind closed doors”.

Several thousand Tibetans, according to their representatives, demonstrated on Sunday in Paris against the visit of Xi Jinping to France, a “country of human rights” which welcomes “a dictator”.