Macron makes Ukraine top priority during China's Xi Jinping's visit to Europe

PARIS French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to pressure China's Xi Jinping to use his influence to get Russia to end the war in Ukraine during a two-day state visit to France. The two leaders were also expected to discuss trade disputes over electric cars, cognac and cosmetics.

Macron's office said discussions on diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine and pressure Russia were a top priority for France.

Discussions will also focus on the Middle East, trade issues and global challenges, including climate change. The President of the European Commission will participate in part of the meetings to discuss the EU's broader concerns.

France is the first stop on a European trip by Xi aimed at rebuilding relations at a time of global tensions. After France on Monday and Tuesday, the Chinese leader will visit Serbia and Hungary. France hopes that the discussions will convince China to use its influence with Moscow to contribute to a resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, according to a French presidential official. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced plans to visit China this month.

Macron will pressure Xi over supplies to Chinese companies supporting the Russian war effort despite EU sanctions, he said. China claims its neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict.

France also wants China to maintain a dialogue with kyiv, added the official, who was not authorized to be publicly named in line with presidential policy.

Last year, Macron called on Xi to bring Russia to its senses, but the call was not followed by any apparent change in Beijing's position.

The French authorities are pursuing two ultimately contradictory objectives, writes Marc Julienne, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the French Institute of International Relations, in an information note. On the one hand, convincing Xi that it is in his interest to help the Europeans pressure Vladimir Putin to end the war and, on the other hand, dissuading the Chinese president from delivering weapons to his Russian friend.

In short, we think that Xi can help us, but at the same time we fear that he could help Putin, writes Julienne.

As France prepares to host the Summer Olympics, Macron said he would ask Xi to use his influence to make the Games a diplomatic moment of peace and respect for the Olympic truce.

Macron, a staunch defender of Europe's economic sovereignty, is also expected to focus on trade. He will discuss French concerns over a Chinese anti-dumping investigation into cognac and other European spirits, as well as tensions around French cosmetics and other sectors.

In a recent speech, he denounced trade practices by China and the United States that increase protections and subsidies.

He coordinated with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who recently visited China and came to Paris last week for a private dinner with the French president.

German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said Friday that Scholz in China had clearly stated that the issue of overcapacity and competition through subsidies must be addressed.

The EU launched an investigation last fall into Chinese subsidies and could impose tariffs on electric vehicles exported from China.

The discussions will also be closely monitored from Washington, just a month before President Joe Biden's planned state visit to France.

Xi's visit to Paris marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and China and follows Macron's trip to China in April 2023. Macron sparked controversy over the trip after saying France would not follow not blindly the United States by getting involved in crises that do not concern it. apparent reference to Chinese demands for unification with Taiwan.

Several groups, including the International Campaign for Tibet and the French Human Rights League, have urged Macron to put human rights issues at the heart of his talks with Xi. Protesters demonstrated in Paris upon Xi's arrival on Sunday, calling for a free Tibet.

Amnesty International called on Macron to demand the release of Uyghur economics professor Ilham Tohti, who was jailed for life in 2014 for promoting separatism, as well as other imprisoned activists.

Macron said in an interview published on Sunday that he would raise human rights concerns.

In Paris on Monday, Xi will first attend a meeting with Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

An official ceremony will then take place at the Invalides monument, before bilateral talks at the Elysée. Macron and Xi will conclude a Franco-Chinese economic forum nearby, then join their wives for a state dinner.

The second day of the visit is intended to be a more personal moment.

Macron invited Xi to visit the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees on Tuesday, where the French leader spent time as a child to see his grandmother. The trip is intended as a reciprocal gesture after Xi took Macron last year to the governor's residence of Guangdong province, where his father once lived.