Emmanuel Macron, on a state visit to Beijing, told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday that he was counting on him to “bring Russia to its senses” vis-à-vis Ukraine.
“I know I can count on you to bring Russia to reason and everyone to the negotiating table,” the French head of state told Mr. Xi during an official bilateral meeting.
“We need to find a lasting peace, that is to say a peace that respects internationally recognized borders and avoids any form of escalation,” he added. “And I believe that it is also an important question for China, as much as it is for France and for Europe”.
For his part, the Chinese president hailed the ties with France in a world in “profound change”.
At the end of the afternoon, the two leaders will make statements to the press, then a trilateral meeting will be held in the presence of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, also in Beijing.
At the center of the discussions: the war in Ukraine.
Received in the morning by Prime Minister Li Qiang, Mr. Macron “discussed the conflict in Ukraine”, according to the French presidency. “In these troubled times that we are going through”, he underlined “the importance” of “dialogue between China and France”.
For her part, Mrs von der Leyen, received by Li Qiang, underlined that “EU-China relations have become complex in recent years, and it is important that we discuss all aspects of this relationship together today”. , especially in this “volatile geopolitical environment”.
“Future of EU-China relations”
In recent weeks, international pressure has mounted a notch on China to encourage it to get involved for peace in Ukraine. Because, if Beijing says it is officially neutral, Xi Jinping has never condemned the Russian invasion or even spoken on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky.
Conversely, he recently went to Moscow to reaffirm his alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the guise of an anti-Western front.
In this context, Emmanuel Macron has the ambition to “be a voice that unites Europe”, which is why he invited the President of the European Commission to accompany him, as he recalled on Wednesday in a speech. .
But will the two adopt the same tone?
On the first day of his three-day state visit, the French president said on Wednesday that Beijing could play a “major role” in “finding a path to peace” in Ukraine.
Ursula von der Leyen issued a much harsher warning last week in Brussels: “How China continues to react to Putin’s war will be a determining factor in the future of relations between the EU and China “.
“Now that she has given her speech, she is clearly in Beijing’s crosshairs because she has set out a fairly firm and tough vision towards Beijing which is not at all that of Emmanuel Macron”, explains to AFP Marc Julienne, of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri).
“We will see how they will distribute the roles,” he adds.
“Firm and energetic measures”
This visit comes at a new moment of tension around the question of Taiwan, just after the meeting, in the United States, between the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and the speaker of the American House of Representatives, the Republican Kevin McCarthy.
On Thursday, Beijing promised “firm and forceful measures” and the island immediately announced that it had detected three warships and a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter nearby.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it intends to eventually bring back into its fold.
“I don’t have the feeling that there is a desire to overreact” on the Chinese side, Emmanuel Macron tried to relativize Wednesday in front of journalists, suggesting that the question of Taiwan would not be a priority file in his discussions.
President Macron’s trip, which aims to renew face-to-face dialogue after three years at a distance due to the health crisis, will have an important economic component: he came with more than 50 French business leaders, including those of Airbus, EDF and Veolia.
“Several important contracts will be signed” on Thursday, he promised, calling not to “disassociate” from China.
Thursday afternoon, agreements in research, cultural cooperation, agriculture and education were concluded. And Airbus will double its aircraft production capacity in China, from 2025, by installing a second aircraft assembly line in Tianjin.
An agreement with the Forbidden City has also been announced by the Palace of Versailles for an exhibition in 2024 on exchanges between France and China in the 18th century.
For her part, Ursula von der Leyen recalled via Twitter that “the EU’s trade deficit [vis-à-vis de la Chine] is increasing due to discriminatory practices” and said he discussed with the Chinese premier “how to rebalance our trade”.