Emmanuel Macron (here, in Angola in early March), who is expected in China on Wednesday, intends to reconnect with Beijing after three years of ties in relations because of the Covid. LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP
DECREASING – The head of state, who is expected to pay an official visit to China on April 5-8, hopes to influence Xi Jinping’s position on Russia and the war in Ukraine.
The European awakening to China is new and still fragile. Like that of France. Emmanuel Macron traveled to China at a time of great international tension, hoping to influence Xi Jinping’s Russia policy and secure contracts for French companies. As competition between China and the United States threatens to escalate into confrontation in the coming years, France wants to use a different voice from Washington in its relations with Beijing. “We don’t have the same positions as the United States towards China because we don’t have the same interests,” summarizes the Elysee. Not wanting to be swept up in the hurricane that is brewing in the Indo-Pacific, Paris wants to reconnect with China after three years of cut ties because of Covid.
Emmanuel Macron asked Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, to accompany him to Beijing, thereby confirming…
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