At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron’s three-day visit to China from April 5 to 7 has triggered a spate of Western media commentaries. After taking power in a new phase in May 2022, it was the French leader’s first trip to China. He last visited China in 2019 before the COVID pandemic. He was accompanied for part of the visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

Macron’s visit took place at a time when China's relationship with the Western world has developed a major rift over the 14-month-long Russia-Ukraine conflict. The US administration under President Joe Biden has observed with some concern the change in France's China policy. Not only France, but many countries in the 27-nation European Union (EU) have turned to China in recent months. Accordingly, the Biden administration has mounted pressure on European leaders to reduce ties with the world's second-biggest economy - China - and pushed Europe to “take a side” in the backdrop of the protracted Russia-Ukraine conflict. Biden knows well that if China's relationship with France and Europe becomes closer, it may affect US-European ties.

Europe’s negative thinking about Macron’s China visit

China has stressed again and again its ‘no-limits friendship’ with Russia. The EU is worried about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict in their backyard. As such, quite a number of important European leaders, such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, European Council President Charles Michel, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited China in the last few months with a diplomatic mission to get President Xi to play a mediation role to stop Russia's campaign in Ukraine. Frequent visits by European leaders to China are surely a recognition of China’s great power status. They realize that China is wielding a great influence in many parts of the world, and there are many global issues that cannot be resolved without China’s participation.  

However, on the eve of Macron’s Chinese trip, many Western experts and media pundits including French media such as RFI, FRANCE 24, were of opinion that Macron would “dissuade China from supporting the Russian invasion” of Ukraine during his meeting with President Xi by pointing fingers at President Xi’s closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. On April 5, RFI journalist Jan van der Made wrote an article titled “Five crucial questions for France's Macron as he embarks on Chinese trip” on its website in which Jan van der Made negatively painted China’s foreign policy under President Xi questioning China’s legitimacy over Hong Kong and Taiwan region, as well as China’s increasingly assertive diplomacy in the Pacific “where French interests in New Caledonia and French Polynesia now directly border Chinese footholds.” 

However, unlike other European leaders, Macron is critical of President Biden’s tough policy toward China, opposes the decoupling of China and Europe, and seeks independent European strategic autonomy from Washington. Returning to Paris from his state visit to China, the French president in an interview for French business daily Les Echos and newsmagazine Politico published on April 9 stated, “We don't want to get into a bloc versus bloc logic,” arguing that Europe “should not be caught up in a disordering of the world and crises that aren't ours.” His message to the EU is clear and loud, “EU should not be a U.S. puppet or geopolitical tool in a new Cold War against China.”

EU leaders' anti-China lineup

Notably, a 2019 European Commission report characterized China as a “partner, competitor, and systemic rival”. It should be recalled here that during his meeting with former Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in August 2020 in Paris, President Macron expressed strong concerns about the situation in Hong Kong and human rights allegations for China’s Muslim Uighur minority. Wang Yi quite justifiably dismissed human rights concerns by European countries and cautioned against interference in Chinese affairs. A delegation of five French lawmakers visited China’s Taiwan region in September 2022, violating the “One China principle,” which confirms that there is but one China, and Taiwan is part of China. In the recent past, France is increasing its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, sending warships through the South China Sea.

EU leaders’ harsh rhetoric against China’s support for Russia

The EU and its Western allies are worried about China’s strong support for Russia both economically and diplomatically in the face of Western sanctions from the very beginning of the Ukraine crisis. Although China has been officially neutral in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US and Western politicians have falsely accused China of backing Russia for its special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Rather, the US and its Western allies have been “fueling the fire” in the Ukraine conflict by providing destructive arms deliveries to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. 

Related News

What’s Happening in the West?

How HTS' ground strategy intersected with America, 'Israel's' project in Syria

Here a part of Ursula von der Leyen's March 30 speech on EU-China relations in Brussels needs to be mentioned: “Far from being put off by the atrocious and illegal invasion of Ukraine, President Xi is maintaining his ‘no-limits friendship’ with Putin's Russia,” adding that China is becoming “more repressive at home and more assertive abroad.” The head of the European Commission has a strong relationship with US President Joe Biden and vocal support for NATO's position. In reference to China's 12-point peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, she stressed that any plan consolidating Russian annexations was “simply not viable."

Quite justifiably, China publicly expressed its displeasure with the language in which von der Leyen spoke about the Chinese President and China days before her visit to China. On March 31, Fu Cong, the Chinese Ambassador to the EU, told in an exclusive interview with China state-owned broadcaster CGTN that he was “a little bit disappointed.” “That speech contained a lot of misrepresentation and misinterpretation of Chinese policies and the Chinese positions,” Fu said. As such, the international relations experts had their eyes set on the two European leaders to see exactly what message they would convey to President Xi during their visit.

France is relying on China to ‘bring Russia back to its senses’

However, Macron has taken steps to increase rapprochement with China without saying anything about China’s internal issues. His cautious diplomacy is evident in his various words regarding Ukraine and Beijing-Moscow relations. Speaking at a gathering of the French community in Beijing on April 5, Macron said France would seek to work with China “in the shared responsibility for peace and stability” in Ukraine. 

On April 6, President Xi and President Macron engaged in closed-door talks. Speaking to the press afterward, Xi said China and France had the “ability and responsibility” to safeguard world peace. On his part, Macron said, “China, with its close relationship with Russia, which has been reaffirmed in recent days, can play a major role,” noting China's opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, as well as the Chinese proposal for peace between Kiev and Moscow. The meeting between the two leaders was described by Chinese and French officials as “frank” and “friendly”. Undoubtedly, Macron's cordial speech is in stark contrast to Washington's escalatory actions against Russia and China. 

The rising significance of Sino-French trade ties

However, the joint trip of Macron and von der Leyen has carried immense significance for the China-Europe economic and trade cooperation as evidenced in the words of Macron: “We must not disassociate ourselves, separate ourselves from China,” further stating France would “commit proactively to continue its commercial relationship with China." Encouragingly, both Macron and von der Leyen ruled out the EU “decoupling” from China, which is the opposite view of Washington.

France has extensive economic interests in China. Trade has forged strong ties between China and France over the past few years. In 2022, bilateral trade exceeded the 100-billion-euro ($109.5 billion) for the first time, which is about 15 percent more than the previous year. China remains France's largest trading partner in Asia and the sixth largest globally. On the other hand, France is China's third-largest trading partner and third-largest source of actual investment in the EU. That is why Macron's entourage included more than 50 French business leaders, including the top bosses of Airbus, EDF, and Veolia. 

During Macron’s stay in Beijing, China and France signed 18 cooperation agreements including green development, innovation, aviation, and new energy. More than 100 French and Chinese corporate leaders attended the fifth meeting of the Council of China-France Entrepreneurs on April 7 in Beijing. During his meeting with Macron, Chinese Premier Li Qiang stressed that China is willing to share the opportunities brought by China's development with France and welcome more quality French products, technologies, and services to the Chinese market. The bilateral trade relationship is a win-win for all. As Chen Weihua, China Daily EU Bureau Chief, in Brussels rightly pointed out in his article on April 7, “Bilateral investment and trade is a win-win for both sides and it is wrong for some EU leaders to think they are doing a favor or charity for China.”

It is hoped that in this volatile and intertwined world, France and Europe will keep their market open and provide a fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

The trilateral meeting injects fresh impetus into China-France and China-EU relations

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership. During the trilateral meeting with President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on April 6, both Macron and Von der Leyen called on the Chinese President to help stop Russia's war in Ukraine. President Xi pointed out that playing up the so-called “democracy vs. authoritarianism” narrative and stoking a new Cold War will only bring division and confrontation to the world while stressing the importance to maintain an open and trusting environment for cooperation. Surely, Xi’s remarks are a powerful rebuke to the “block politics” promoted by the United States that has weakened the world order. 

Regarding Chinese mediation in the Ukraine conflict, Xi told the two European leaders that the Ukraine crisis is not an issue between China and the EU. China will continue to play a positive role in facilitating peace talks. 

Affirming France's willingness to contribute to the growth of EU-China relations, Macron said, “France will not pick sides. Instead, France calls for unity and cooperation to keep relations stable between major countries.” The trilateral meeting sent a clear message that China and Europe can be all-around partners. As a Global Times editorial rightly noted on April 8, “The Ukraine issue should not be an obstacle to China-EU communication, but an opportunity for both sides to strengthen coordination.” 

Xi-Macron informal meeting boosts confidence 

The Xi-Macron informal summit in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, on April 7, which included a stroll through the Pine Garden close to Baiyun Mountain, having tea by the water, and listening to the Guqin melody surely has brought in a vernal breeze in China-France ties amid differences while providing the opportunity to discuss the Ukraine crisis in a natural environment. President Xi said that political settlement is the only right way out for resolving the Ukraine crisis, reiterating that a ceasefire and stopping hostilities at an early date conforms to the interests of all concerned parties and those of the entire world. On the other side, it's true that the informal meeting has apparently provided some fresh air into the Sino-French relationship as the two world leaders celebrated the “solidity of the foundation of relations between the two countries and the friendship between the two peoples.”

In plain speak, Macron’s visit has presented China to the Western world as a reliable peace broker in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is crucial for global peace.