China’s President Xi Jinping is on a rare state visit to France, which started with trilateral talks with French President Emanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Ahead of Xi’s visit, both von der Leyen and Macron indicated the meetings would focus on establishing fair trade between the European Union and China. Both leaders have complained of overproduction by China’s subsidized industries, allowing them to flood European markets with cheap goods.
France currently holds the revolving presidency of the European Council, defined as the EU institution that defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU.
Speaking to reporters following the talks, von der Leyen said a China that plays fair is good for everyone. “For trade to be fair, access to each other’s market also needs to be reciprocal. And we discussed how to make real progress on market access,” von der Leyen said.
The European Commission president expressed confidence the two sides could make progress but, at the same time, said the EU would not waver from taking steps to protect its economy and security and “stands ready to make full use of our trade defense instruments if this is necessary.”
Von der Leyen said they also discussed Russia and its invasion of Ukraine. She gave credit to China for playing an “important role” in de-escalating Russia’s “irresponsible nuclear threats.”
Additionally, she sought continued assurances from China that it would not provide any weapons to Russia, as well as dual-use goods, such as technology that could have weapons applications.
“Given the existential nature of the threats stemming from this war for both Ukraine and Europe, this does affect the EU-China relations,” von der Leyen said.
Following the trilateral meeting, Macron and Xi held bilateral talks.
The Chinese president and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrived Sunday at Orly airport outside Paris, where they were greeted by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
During Xi’s two-day stay in France, Macron will take him to the Pyrenees, a mountainous region dear to the French president as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother, on Tuesday before Xi heads to Russia-friendly Serbia and Hungary.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
