60 years of Franco-Chinese relations have been celebrated, haven’t they? On this occasion, Xi Jinping is expected on Monday 6 and Tuesday 7 May in Paris for a state visit. The Chinese president and his wife, Peng Liyuan, will be welcomed by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. This visit marks the start of the European tour of the Chinese head of state, who has not set foot on the Old Continent since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. It also follows the visit of the President of the Republic to Beijing and Canton in April 2023as indicated by Elyse in a press release.
Last year, in China, Emmanuel Macron called Xi Jinping bring Russia back to sanity with regard to Ukraine, and everyone at the negotiating table. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow have displayed unprecedented proximity both diplomatically and commercially. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected in China during the month of May. In 2023, after his discussions with the French head of state, Xi Jinping said he was ready to change with Volodymyr Zelensky. He actually called the Ukrainian president some time later. Since then, the situation between kyiv and Beijing has been at a standstill.
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Relations between Beijing and Moscow, central point of this visit
THE international crisesas the war in Ukraine are therefore obviously on the program for these few days, assures Elyse. China as one of Russia's main partnersEmmanuel Macron wishes encourage it to use the levers it has over Moscow in order to change Russia's calculations and to be able to contribute to a resolution of this conflictsaid the French presidency. The head of state I would have called the others on the activity of certain Chinese companies which could directly contribute significantly to the Russian war effort added an advisor, reports Agence France Presse (AFP). German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Chinese soil in mid-April. The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, met Xi-Jinping at the end of April. Both also encouraged the Chinese president to use his levers of influence to request an effort from Moscow.
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France, through this visit, demonstrates that it is one of the very rare countries in the world to be able to maintain channels of discussion at all levels with the second largest economic power in the world, with China, in a context where there is an extensive relationship. with the United States and the United Kingdom. It is an added value which is specific to Francewe say from a diplomatic source, AFP.
Will Ukraine have to repay the foreign aid it has received since the start of the conflict?
A more intimate visit to the Hautes-Pyrnes
Exchanges between Beijing and Paris will also cover the situation in the Middle East, points out Elyse. Commercial issues, scientific, cultural and sporting cooperation as well as 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 countrieswill also be discussed, indicates the French presidency. The spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, Lin Jian, specified on Monday April 29 that the meeting between Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron aims make new contributions to peace, stability, development and progress of the world.
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The Chinese president arrives in Paris on Sunday May 5. He is expected at the Elysee Palace the next day for a state dinner in the village hall. On May 7, the two couples will travel to the Hautes-Pyrnes, to the Col du Tourmalet, the flagship stage of the Tour de France. Emmanuel Macron wishes to share a more intimate moment with his counterpart in this region that he knows well. He regularly visited his grandmother, who died in 2013, who lived in Bagnres-de-Bigorre (Hautes-Pyrnes). In 2023, during the French head of state's visit to China, Xi Jinping invited him to a tea ceremony in the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father, Xi Zhongxun, lived. Next stop in the Chinese president's European tour: Serbia, then Hungary, where he is expected from May 8 to 10, the Chinese authorities confirmed on Monday April 29.
