China’s president Xi Jinping has praised China’s relationship with France as a model for “win-win cooperation between countries with different social systems,” Reuters reports. Xi Jinping arrived in Paris yesterday and is set to meet with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, today.
The rare two-day state visit comes amid rising tensions between the Asian giant and European Union (EU) over trade disputes and China’s ties to Russia.
Regarding the latter, the EU would like to see China exert more pressure on Russia to cease its war with Ukraine. “If the Chinese seek to deepen the relationship with European partners, it is really important that they hear our point of view and start taking it seriously,” a French diplomat told Reuters.
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On the trade front, France is backing a probe into what the EU considers an oversupply of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) exports. It has also excluded Chinese-made cars from a scheme designed to encourage EV purchases.
China has meanwhile launched an anti-dumping investigation into spirits imported from the EU, mainly targeting French brandy.
Macron and Xi are also likely to discuss France’s aim to export more agricultural products to China, and the French cosmetics sector’s concerns about possible intellectual property issues arising from new Chinese import rules requiring the disclosure of closely-guarded formulas.
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The French president has said that he is determined to “find a solution that also protects the interests of our companies.”
While in Europe, Xi is scheduled to accompany Macron to the Pyrenees before heading to Serbia and Hungary later in the week.
