Emmanuel Macron has an appointment in Beijing to try to "build a common path" with China, the president assured to rely on Xi Jinping that he was counting on him to "bring Russia to reason" vis-à-vis Ukraine.
"I know I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses and everyone to the negotiating table," the French head of state told his counterpart during an official bilateral meeting. The Chinese head of state meanwhile hailed ties with France in a world undergoing "profound historical change" during a one-on-one meeting in Beijing with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. "The world is now undergoing a profound historical change," he noted, stressing that relations between Paris and Beijing had nevertheless experienced "positive and steady development".
Emmanuel Macron previously spoke with National Assembly Speaker Zhao Leji, to whom he "highlighted the impacts of the war in Ukraine on global security and strategic balances". For her part, Ursula von der Leyen, received by Li Qiang, stressed that "EU-China relations have become complex in recent years, and it is important that we discuss all aspects of this relationship together today" , especially in this "volatile geopolitical environment".
In recent weeks, international pressure has mounted a notch on China to encourage it to get involved for peace in Ukraine. Because, if Beijing says it is officially neutral, Xi Jinping has never condemned the Russian invasion or even spoken on the phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Conversely, he recently went to Moscow to reaffirm his alliance with Russian President Vladimir Putin, looking like an anti-Western front.
In this context, Emmanuel Macron has the ambition to "be a voice that unites Europe", which is why he invited the President of the European Commission to accompany him, as he recalled on Wednesday in a speech . But will the two strike the same tone?
On the first day of his three-day state visit, the French president said on Wednesday that Beijing could play a "major role" in "finding a path of peace" in Ukraine, citing the 12-point document on China's position published in February. Ursula von der Leyen, for her part, issued a much harsher warning last week in Brussels: "How China continues to react to Putin's war will be a determining factor in the future of relations between the EU and China. »
"Now that she has given her speech, she is clearly in Beijing's sights because she has set out a fairly firm and tough view on Beijing which is not at all that of Emmanuel Macron," explains to Agence France-Presse Marc Julienne, of the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri). "We will see how they will distribute the roles", he adds, the firm position of the European leader being able to "that Emmanuel Macron be upstaged by Ursula von der Leyen".
But "playing good cop and bad cop between Macron and von der Leyen in Beijing would instantly weaken the European narrative of a united front," warns Antoine Bondaz of the Foundation for Strategic Research in an analytical note. Presidents Macron and Xi are to make statements to the press before a state dinner that will close a day of well-paced ceremonial.
This visit comes at a new moment of tension around the question of Taiwan, just after the meeting, in the United States, between the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and the speaker of the American House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. On Thursday, Beijing promised a "determined" response and the self-governing island immediately announced that it had detected three Chinese warships and a Chinese anti-submarine helicopter nearby.
China considers Taiwan to be one of its provinces, which it intends to eventually bring back into its fold. "I don't have the feeling that there is a desire to overreact" on the Chinese side, Emmanuel Macron tried to relativize Wednesday in front of journalists, suggesting that the question of Taiwan would not be a priority file in his discussions.
Marc Julienne considers it "necessary" to express to President Xi "the deep concern we have about the stability of the Taiwan Strait and about the possible breakdown of the status quo", recalling that "France presents itself as a power of the Indo-Pacific". President Macron's trip, which aims to renew face-to-face dialogue after three years at a distance due to the health crisis, will have an important economic component: he came with more than 50 French business leaders, including those from 'Airbus, EDF and Veolia. "Several important contracts will be signed" on Thursday, he promised, urging not to "disassociate" from China.
