Xi did not make any concessions in the talks with the French president: Media gives reasons
Kyiv • UNN
Chinese President Xi Jinping made no concessions during his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, despite efforts to improve tense relations over trade disputes and Beijing's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made no concessions in talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, following a two-day visit to the country. The two presidents sought to improve relations during Xi's first trip to Europe in five years after relations were soured by trade disputes and Beijing's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, UNN reports citing Voice of America.
Context
Macron invited Xi to the Pyrenees Mountains, the birthplace of the French president's maternal grandmother. Beneath snow-capped peaks shrouded in mist, the two leaders and their wives watched a traditional dancing performance before dining on local ham, lamb, cheese, and blueberry pie.
French officials had hoped that Tuesday's trip to the mountains would provide an opportunity for less formal one-on-one discussions, following Xi's lavish and solemn state reception in Paris on Monday.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly since Xi last visited the region in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic. Europe accuses Beijing of subsidizing industries that undermine its companies in areas such as electric vehicles, but Macron told his Chinese guests that the European Union is not seeking to cut economic ties.
"Our common goal is to continue the relationship," Macron told delegates at the Franco-Chinese Business Council in Paris on Monday. - "There is no logic in separating from China. We want to protect our national security, just as you want to protect yours. It's a desire for mutual respect and understanding, and a desire to continue to open up trade, but to ensure that it's fair at all times, whether it's in terms of tariffs, subsidies, or market access.
China's position
Xi Jinping has not made any concessions, said analyst Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
"Xi Jinping does not believe that China has an overcapacity problem. And he thinks that the European position on Chinese electric cars, for example, is unreasonable. But of course, he's also trying to cooperate with the French and potentially have a leading Chinese car. the manufacturer is opening factories in France as a kind of incentive to convince that maybe it's in France's interest to cooperate with China and welcome Chinese electric cars," Tsang told VOA.
According to Nicholas Beckelin, a senior fellow at the Paul Cai China Center at Yale Law School, trade relations are tilting in Beijing's favor.
China "exports a lot to Europe. The trade deficit in Europe is huge and growing. The risk mitigation or anti-subsidy policies that the European Union wants to introduce will take a long time - and because they affect different countries in the European Union differently, it's very difficult to come to an agreement," Becklen said.
