French President Emmanuel Macron will take a gaggle of business executives to China next week, despite European Union advice to “de-risk” Europe’s economic ties to Beijing.
Airbus and Alstom officials will be among those on the trip, according to Élysée sources, along with a large group of artists and filmmakers, as Macron looks to solidify business and cultural ties with the world’s second-largest economy.
Macron, who plans to fly from protest-riven Paris on Tuesday, is to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday.
Later that evening, following a sit-down with French companies, he will attend a state dinner, followed by a trilateral summit with Xi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
From there he is to travel to Guangdong, where he will hold a question-and-answer session with students on Friday, followed by a more “informal” dinner with Xi.
Macron’s agenda will include trying to enlist Chinese support to end the war in Ukraine. He believes Beijing can be a “game-changer”, should it decide to leverage its close relationship with Russia, officials said.
Additionally, Macron will look to promote commercial ties with Beijing, responding to Washington’s new package of domestic subsidies, which Paris fears will lure European businesses across the Atlantic.
The French government has “no intention” of decoupling from China, the officials said, even while supporting trade defence measures the EU is drawing up to deal with Beijing’s economic behaviour.
Macron’s trip mirrors one German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took to Beijing last year, also with a host of business executives – a move widely criticised by other EU members.
Even so, Macron’s plan appears to clash with a tough-talking speech by von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday, in which she established herself as one of Europe’s most hawkish leaders on China.
Read More at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3215647/macron-take-french-business-leaders-china-next-week-despite-eu-calls-de-risk-ties
Comments