Macron, Von der Leyen press China's Xi on trade in Paris talks

[May 06, 2024]  By Elizabeth Pineau and Tassilo Hummel

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen urged China's President Xi Jinping to ensure more balanced trade at the start of a visit to Paris by the Chinese leader, during which Macron will also press him on Ukraine.

Xi was in Europe for the first time in five years, at a time of growing trade tensions, with the European Union investigating several Chinese industries including electric vehicle exports, while Beijing is probing mostly French-made imports of brandy.

Macron said Europe and China were at a junction in history that required resolving structural difficulties, including reaching a level playing field for businesses.

"The future of our continent will also very clearly depend on our capacity to further develop in a balanced way our relationship with China," he said as the three sat a round table under the gilded ceilings of the Elysee Palace.

Minutes before, Macron and Xi shook hands in the Elysee's courtyard while the Republican Guard's orchestra played welcome music.

Macron has a tendency to hug his counterparts but Xi doesn't. This time, Macron just seemed to give Xi's arm a squeeze as they were shaking hands. Macron, who welcomed him in the courtyard, walked inside the Elysee palace with him.

In brief public comments ahead of talks behind closed doors, Xi responded that he viewed relations with Europe as a priority of China's foreign policy and that both should stay committed to the partnership.

"As the world enters a new period of turbulence and change, as two important forces in this world, China and Europe should adhere to the positioning of partners, adhere to dialogue and cooperation..." Xi said.

Von der Leyen said China and Europe have a shared interest in peace and security, but that the relation is challenged by issues linked to market access and trade.

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with President Xi Jinping as he arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris as part of the Chinese president's two-day state visit in France, May 6, 2024. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

"We have a substantial EU-China economic relationship," she said. "But this relationship is also challenged, for example, through state induced overcapacity, unequal market access and overdependencies and these are all issues that we will address today."

NOT UNIFIED

The EU's 27 members - in particular France and Germany - are not unified in their attitude towards China, which does not help obtaining changes from China. While Paris advocates a tougher line on the EV probe, Berlin wants to proceed with more caution, sources say.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not join Macron and Xi in Paris due to prior commitments, sources said.

France is also set to nudge China into pressuring Moscow to halt operations in Ukraine, with little progress apart from Xi's decision to call President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time shortly after Macron visited Beijing last year.

France also hopes to push to open the Chinese market for its agricultural exports and resolve issues around the French cosmetic industry's concerns about intellectual property rights, officials said. China, meanwhile, may announce an order for around 50 Airbus aircraft during Xi's visit.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau, Tassilo Hummel, Ingrid Melander, Geert de Clercq and Gabriel Stargardter in Paris, Sudip Kar-Gupta in Brussels, Ryan Woo, Laurie Chen and Ethan Wang in Beijing; additional reporting by Andrew Gray in Brussels; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Stephen Coates, William Maclean)

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