Xi Jinping has already arrived in France. Ukraine and trade are main dishes on the menu – Europe

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France this Sunday afternoon for his first state visit to the Old Continent since 2019.

Accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, the Chinese leader was received by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at Orly airport.

Xi Jinping’s visit will focus heavily on the situation in Ukraine, with the Elysee asking Beijing to distance itself from the Kremlin, as well as trade relations. The visit comes as ties reach their most strained point in decades, amid a series of European Union investigations into excessive subsidies and accusations of state-sponsored espionage and cyberattacks by China.

French President Emmanuel Macron defends an update of economic ties between the country and China, at a time when Chinese leader Xi Jinping is expected in France for a state visit.

“Let’s be clear, I’m not proposing that we distance ourselves from China,” he said in the interview. “Whether it’s climate or security, we need the Chinese,” Macron stressed.

In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche, the French President states that Europe wants more reciprocity in its economic ties with China, in order to better guarantee its economic security.

“I’m asking for an ‘aggiornamento [atualização]’, because China now has excess capacity in many areas and exports massively to Europe”, said Macron in the interview, using the Italian word.

Although some sources suggest that Macron supported a key EU investigation into Chinese electric vehicles late last year, the French president is also on a charm offensive as he tries to attract investment from the world’s second economy.

After welcoming Xi to a dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris, Macron will take his Chinese guest to an area of ​​the Pyrenees where, as a child, he spent time at his grandmother’s house. Last year, Xi invited Macron to tea at the Guangdong governor’s residence, a post once held by his father.

Despite Macron’s tough stance on economic issues, the French President defends Europe’s role as a balancing power that allows China to continue to be included in the global debate.

News updated at 16:42 with the arrival of Xi Jinping in France