PARIS– French President Emmanuel Macron will try 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. Both leaders were also expected to discuss trade disputes over electric cars, cognac and cosmetics.
Macron’s office said negotiations on diplomatic efforts to support Ukraine and pressure Russia are a top priority for France. Discussions will also include the Middle East, trade issues and global challenges, including climate change. The president of the European Commission will attend part of the meetings to raise wider EU concerns.
France is the first stop on Xi’s European trip that aims to rebuild relations at a time of global tensions. After France, on Monday and Tuesday, the Chinese leader will go to Serbia and Hungary.
France hopes that the discussions will help convince China to use its influence with Moscow to “contribute to the 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 press Xi on supplies from Chinese companies supporting the Russian war effort despite EU sanctions, he said. China claims neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine.
France also wants China to maintain dialogue with Kiev, added the official, who was not authorized to be named publicly in line with presidential policy.
Last year, Macron appealed to Xi to “bring Russia to its senses” – but the appeal was not followed by any apparent change in Beijing’s position.
“The French authorities pursue two objectives that are ultimately contradictory,” wrote Marc Julienne, director of the Center for Asian Studies at the French Institute of International Relations, in a briefing note. interest in helping the Europeans put pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war and, on the other hand, in dissuading the Chinese president from handing over weapons to his Russian friend.
“In short, we think Xi can help us, but at the same time we fear he can help Putin,” Julienne wrote.
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 the Olympic Truce.
Macron, a strong supporter of Europe’s economic sovereignty, is expected to also focus on trade. He will raise French concerns about a Chinese anti-dumping investigation into cognac and other European brands, and tensions over French cosmetics and other sectors.
In a recent speech, he denounced Chinese and US trade practices as reinforcing 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 “clearly said that the issue of overcapacity and competition through subsidies needs to 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 watched in Washington, just a month before President Joe Biden’s scheduled visit to France.
Xi’s visit to Paris marks the 60th anniversary of France-China diplomatic relations and follows Macron’s trip to China in April 2023. Macron sparked controversy on that trip after saying France would not blindly follow the US in engaging in crises that are not their concern, an apparent reference to China’s demands for unification with Taiwan.
Several groups, including the International Campaign for Tibet and the French League for Human Rights, have urged Macron to put human rights issues at the center of his talks with Xi. Protesters demonstrated in Paris when Xi arrived on Sunday, calling for a free Tibet.
Amnesty International called on Macron to demand the release of Uyghur economics professor Ilham Tohti, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 on charges of promoting separatism, and other imprisoned activists.
Macron said in an interview published on Sunday that he will raise human rights issues.
On Monday, in Paris, Xi will first participate in a meeting with Macron and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
A formal ceremony will then take place at the Invalides monument, before bilateral talks at the Elysee presidential palace. Macron and Xi will conclude an upcoming Franco-Chinese economic forum and 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 Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees mountains on Tuesday, where the French leader spent time as a child to see his grandmother. The trip is intended to be a reciprocal gesture after Xi last year took Macron to the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father lived.
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Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris and Stephen Graham in Berlin contributed to the story.
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