(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP
Paris, France: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday arrived in France on a state visit hosted by Emmanuel Macron where the French leader will seek to push his counterpart on issues ranging from Ukraine to trade.
Xi's arrival for the visit marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between France and China was the start of his first trip to Europe since 2019 which will also see him visit Serbia and Hungary.
But Xi's choice of France as the sole major European power to visit indicates the relative warmth in Sino-French relations since Macron made his own state visit to China in April 2023 and acknowledges the French leader's stature as an EU powerbroker.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the plane carrying Xi had touched down in Paris.
Xi is to hold a day of talks in Paris on Monday -- also including EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen -- followed by a state banquet hosted by Macron.
Tuesday will see Macron take Xi to the Pyrenees mountains to an area he used to visit as a boy for a day of less public and more intimate talks.
'Stability of international order'
A key priority of Macron will be to warn Xi of the danger of backing Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, with Western officials concerned Moscow is already using Chinese machine tools in arms production.
Beijing's ties with Moscow have, if anything, warmed after the invasion and the West wants China above all not to supply weapons to Russia and risk tipping the balance in the conflict.
"It is in our interest to get China to weigh in on the stability of the international order," said Macron in an interview with the Economist published on Thursday.
"We must, therefore, work with China to build peace," he added.
Macron also said in the same interview Europe must defend its "strategic interests" in its economic relations with China, accusing Beijing of not respecting the rules on international trade.
But he acknowledged in an interview with the La Tribune Dimanche newspaper that Europeans are "not unanimous" on the strategy to adopt as "certain actors still see China essentially as a market of opportunities" while it "exports massively" to Europe.
"The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must be followers and adapt ourselves to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction," Macron said at the time, warning against a "bloc versus bloc logic".
The other two countries chosen by Xi for his tour, Serbia and Hungary, are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe.
"The two core messages from Macron will be on Chinese support to Russia's military capabilities and Chinese market-distorting practices," said Janka Oertel, director of the Asia programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"However, both messages are unlikely to have a significant impact on Chinese behaviour: Xi is not on a mission to repair ties, because from his point of view all is well."
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