In talks with Macron, von der Leyen in Beijing, president urges deeper cooperation, mutual trust

President Xi Jinping (center), French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meet for talks in Beijing on April 6. (FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY)

China and France agreed on April 6 to keep bilateral ties stable and pursue mutually beneficial cooperation, and they pledged to maintain communication on the Ukraine crisis and play a positive role in achieving a political settlement.

President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron reached the agreement during talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Macron’s visit was the first by a European head of state since the full resumption of China’s exchanges with the world, which were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Xi gave Macron a grand welcome ceremony before they held official talks.

During their talks, Xi and Macron agreed that China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major countries with a tradition of independence, should keep to the overall direction of a comprehensive strategic partnership that is stable, mutually beneficial, enterprising and dynamic, inject new vitality into China-Europe relations, and make new contributions to international cooperation against global challenges.

Jointly meeting the media with Macron after the talks, Xi said that China and France agreed that they will continue to support a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, oppose the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation, and jointly tackle all types of global challenges.

On bilateral ties, Xi said that the two countries will maintain close communication at the head-of-state level, and hold a new round of meetings under the three high-level mechanisms on strategic, economic and financial, and people-to-people dialogues within this year.

The two sides reiterated mutual respect for each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests, he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, on her first visit to China since taking office in 2019, joined Xi and Macron at a trilateral meeting later on April 6, and vowed to increase constructive dialogue to promote the consistent and stable development of China-EU ties.

After their talks, Xi and Macron jointly witnessed the signing of a series of important cooperation agreements. These included deepening cooperation in traditional areas such as aviation, aerospace and civilian nuclear energy, as well as cultivating new growth drivers in cooperation such as green development and scientific and technological innovation, including building a China-France carbon neutrality center and strengthening joint training of talents.

Among the deals, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus signed an agreement with China Aviation Supplies Holding Co on April 6 and landed orders for 160 new aircraft, including 150 A320-family aircraft and 10 A350-900 wide-body planes.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury also signed an agreement with Tianjin Free Trade Zone Investment Co and Aviation Industry Corp of China to expand the A320-family final assembly capacity in China, with a second line at its Tianjin site.

Xi conveyed to Macron China’s readiness to advance high-standard opening-up and share new opportunities in its development with countries around the world.

Macron said to Xi that France respects and pursues the one-China policy, and wants to continue to maintain close communication and cooperation on such issues as climate change and food security.

France appreciates China’s upholding of the principles of the UN Charter and playing a positive role in resolving international and regional issues, Macron said, adding that his country looks forward to coordination with China to promote lasting global peace and stability.

Noting that France adheres to an independent foreign policy and upholds the strategic autonomy of Europe, the French president said that his country supports international solidarity and cooperation, and hopes major countries maintain stable relations. France opposes bloc confrontation and will not take sides, he added.

The two leaders attended the closing ceremony of the fifth meeting of the Sino-French entrepreneurs’ committee.

During the trilateral meeting with Macron and von der Leyen, Xi said that the China-EU relationship is not targeted at, subjugated to, or controlled by any third party. He expressed his hope that the EU could take an independent approach to developing its relations with China and adopt a pragmatic and proactive China policy.

Hyping up the so-called issue of “democracy versus authoritarianism” and provoking a new “Cold War” will result in division and confrontation, Xi said.

He called for fostering a cooperation environment that upholds openness and mutual trust, and called for avoiding the politicization of economic and trade issues.

Both Macron and von der Leyen expressed their opposition to economic decoupling and the disruption of industrial and supply chains, saying that such attempts are not in the interests of the EU.

In a separate meeting with von der Leyen, Xi called for China and the EU to maintain close communication, enhance strategic mutual trust, focus on win-win cooperation and jointly overcome disturbances and challenges in order to realize the high-level development of China-EU ties.

Both sides should carry out in-depth dialogue and communication on economic and trade issues, he said.

Von der Leyen reiterated that the EU has no intention of changing its long-standing one-China policy and that it recognizes that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing China. She expressed hope that peace and stability are maintained across the Taiwan Straits.

Following the trips of Macron and von der Leyen to Beijing, experts and business leaders said closer economic and trade ties between China and European countries will benefit both sides and inject more positive factors into the global economy as it faces increasing recession threats.

Despite decoupling pressure from the United States, the EU should join hands with China to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties, as cooperation can help solve disputes, fuel growth and benefit the people, they said. 

Accompanied by a business delegation of senior executives from a range of French companies, Macron said during his China trip that China and the EU should work with each other to stay away from the trap of economic decoupling and severing supply chains, and keep deepening the EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership.

Von der Leyen said the Chinese and EU economies are highly intertwined, and decoupling from China is neither in the EU’s interests nor the EU’s strategic choice, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Wei Jianguo, a former Chinese vice-minister of commerce and vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said: “As relations between China and the EU are at a crossroads, it is of great significance that France takes the initiative to set an example for other European countries to expand cooperation with China and oppose protectionism.” 

“China and France are expected to raise their economic and trade cooperation to a new level following the visit, and their bilateral trade is very likely to exceed $100 billion within two to three years, up from $81 billion last year,” he said, adding that China and France are also expected to strengthen cooperation in third-party markets, especially in Africa, to fuel growth and alleviate poverty together in the continent.

Zhang Jianping, head of the center for regional economic cooperation at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said the high economic complementarity between China and France indicates huge potential for the two countries to expand trade and investment cooperation.

“China’s unwavering opening-up and enormous domestic market will provide unparalleled opportunities for French enterprises, while the two countries are also likely to upgrade cooperation in industrial chains, especially in high-end manufacturing sectors,” he said.

France is a major trading partner for China in the EU, and its policy toward China is more independent than that of some other countries that have blindly followed the US. Progress in China-France and China-EU relations is conducive to world economic recovery, said Wei.

On April 6, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, called for a step change in global cooperation to reduce the impact of economic fragmentation and geopolitical tension, in order to make the global economy more vibrant and create better opportunities for all.

IMF research shows that the long-term cost of trade fragmentation could be as high as 7 percent of global GDP — roughly equivalent to the combined annual output of Germany and Japan, she said.

She warned that global growth is projected to remain around 3 percent over the next five years — the IMF’s lowest medium-term growth forecast since 1990, and well below the average of 3.8 percent over the past two decades.

Ludovic Weber, French construction product maker Saint-Gobain’s Asia-Pacific CEO, said the expected solid growth in China this year will underpin global economic recovery.

Zhu Wenqian contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at caodesheng@chinadaily.com.cn