PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen urged China to ensure more balanced trade at the start of President Xi Jinping's visit to Paris, during which Macron was also set to press him on Ukraine.
Macron said Europe and China needed to resolve structural difficulties, in particular on trade. "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 at a round table under the gilded ceilings of the Elysee Palace.
In brief public comments ahead of the talks, Xi said 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.
France also hopes to push to open the Chinese market for its agricultural exports. China, may announce an order for around 50 Airbus aircraft during Xi's visit.
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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the first time shortly after Macron visited Beijing last year.
China-EU cooperation, in essence, was complementary and mutually beneficial, Xi told French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during a trilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Jinping said that china had all along been working "vigorously" to facilitate talks for peace in Ukraine.
China is ready to work with the EU to support a more broad-based, authoritative and effective international peace conference to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The pressing task was to realise a comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible, and the key priority was to ensure humanitarian assistance.
It is legitimate for France and China to each support their domestic industries, but any such policies have to be done fairly and reciprocally, French Finance Minsiter Bruno Le Maire said. Le Maire added that Chinese President Xi Jinping's current visit to France was a good opportunity to build a balanced trade partnership.— Reuters
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