Chinese president returns to Europe after Covid-19 with economy and Ukraine on the agenda – Economy – SAPO.pt

On this first day, a reception will take place in Paris at Les Invalides, where the remains of Emperor Napoleon are located and where state tributes are paid, according to the French presidency.

In addition to the bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace and the meeting that will bring together the presidents and the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, Sino-French economic meetings are planned at the Marigny Theater (Paris).

The two leaders and their respective first ladies will, a day later, visit the emblematic Tourmalet, in the Pyrenees, at a time that marks 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, added Emmanuel Macron’s office.

The two-day trip takes place a year after Macron’s visit to Beijing and Guangzhou in 2023, in a context of slight rapprochement between China and the European Union, although there are still tensions in the areas of trade, economy and respect for human rights .

International news agencies expect Xi to express dissatisfaction with European investigations into Chinese business practices and maintain his stance on Russia. China claims neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine, but Xi and Putin declared that their governments had an “unlimited friendship” before Moscow’s attack in February 2022.

For Paris, the main issue must be the war in Ukraine, and given that “China is one of Russia’s main partners”, Emmanuel Macron intends to “encourage it to use the influence it has over Moscow to change Russia’s calculations and contribute to the resolution of this conflict”, according to the Élysée Palace.

Last year, in China, Macron called on his counterpart to “call Russia to reason” and shortly afterwards the Chinese President called his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time since the start of the conflict, in February 2022.

However, the diplomatic progress expected by Paris did not occur.

After France, Xi will visit Hungary and Serbia, European countries closest to China and also to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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