French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted by a large crowd at a university in southern China on Friday as he neared the end of a three-day visit during which he had repeatedly urged his counterpart Xi Jinping to help end the Ukraine conflict.
Macron, who landed in the capital Beijing on Wednesday, said he was trying to dissuade China from supporting Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.
This morning he flew to the southern city of Guangzhou, where he was mobbed by hundreds of screaming students desperate for a selfie or high-five with the French leader – a stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of protesters who set one of them on fire their president’s favorite Parisian restaurants stuck amid riots over pension reforms.
La Rotonde – where Macron celebrated his election victory in 2017 – was attacked with Molotov cocktails. The venue’s chic outdoor awning was in shambles and some of its windows smashed in last night as police made 20 arrests in the area.
Macron, whose name was chanted by some in the Guangzhou crowd, then spoke to students at the campus gym and answered their questions before an early dinner with Xi ahead of meetings with Chinese investors and a flight home.
It comes after the French leader met his Chinese counterpart for talks in Beijing on Thursday and ultimately failed to encourage Xi to change his stance on ally Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a visit at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou April 7, 2023
Students mobbed the French President as he strolled across the grounds in front of the University Hall
Chinese students await the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, April 7, 2023
PARIS — Meanwhile in Paris, angry protesters set fire to one of Macron’s favorite restaurants amid ongoing anger over his pension reform
Workers repair the sign of La Rotonde restaurant in Paris that partially burned down during protests
An effigy of the French President burns during a demonstration at Place d’Italie on the 11th day of action after the government on March 6
Putin’s invasion of his neighbor has dominated Macron’s visit to China – his first since 2019.
He told students in Guangzhou that the war was “a blatant violation of our international law.”
Russia, Macron said, is “a country that decided to colonize its neighbor and not respect the rules.”
“The international order is now weakened and we, China and France, have a responsibility to preserve it while reinventing it in the face of 21st-century realities,” he said.
Macron also urged them to adopt a “critical mind” that would enable them to become “free, rational individuals” — another stark contrast to the rigid, state-controlled education that Chinese students undergo.
In his talks with Xi on Thursday, Macron said, “I can count on you to bring Russia to their senses and bring everyone to the negotiating table.”
And a French diplomat told AFP that Xi had expressed his willingness to speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only when the time was right.
At a press conference after the talks, Macron delivered a lengthy speech that eclipsed the Chinese leader’s terse remarks – a political “faux pas” that seemed to anger Xi, who sighed and uncomfortably shifted his weight while his French counterpart babbled on .
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, who is accompanying Macron on his visit, welcomed Xi’s openness to speaking with Zelenskyy.
Unlike the sympathetic Macron, von der Leyen has adopted a firmer tone in her talks with Chinese officials this week.
On Thursday, she said she shared with officials her “deep concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation in China” and warned Beijing that arms sales to Russia would “significantly affect” ties.
French President Emmanuel Macron (L) meets and speaks with Chinese students during his visit to Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou April 7, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron chat before a tea ceremony at the residence of the Guandong provincial governor in Guangzhou, China, Friday April 7
Macron and Xi have tea at the Guandong Provincial Governor’s Residence in Guangzhou
Macron gestures as he speaks to students at Sun Yat-sen University
President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron after the signing ceremony in Beijing April 6, 2023
President Xi Jinping holds a trilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
Moscow, however, has thrown cold water at the prospect of Beijing’s mediation, insisting on Thursday it had “no choice” but to continue its offensive in Ukraine.
“Undoubtedly, China has a very effective and dominant mediation potential,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“But the situation with Ukraine is complex, so far there is no prospect of a political solution.”
Beyond the war in Ukraine, Macron’s visit also focused on cementing an important trading partnership.
The French leader will be joined in China by more than 50 French business leaders, including top bosses from Airbus, EDF and Veolia.
Airbus announced Thursday it would open a second final assembly line in China that will double its production capacity in the country, setting the framework for the deal signed by CEO Guillaume Faury in Beijing.
Asia has become a key market for both Airbus and its US competitor Boeing as demand for air travel rises with a growing middle class.