China’s President Xi Jinping heads to Paris on Sunday for a rare visit, with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron set to press him to reduce trade imbalances and try to convince him to use his influence on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Neither aim will be easily fulfilled during Xi’s two-day stay in France, where he arrives at a time of growing trade tensions between Europe and China.
France is backing a European Union probe into Chinese electric vehicle exports and in January Beijing opened an investigation into imports of brandy – which is mostly made in France – a move widely seen as tit-for-tat retaliation amid a growing set of EU probes.
“We must continue to push Chinese authorities to give us more guarantees on trade issues,” an Elysee advisor said ahead of Xi’s visit, his first trip to Europe in five years.
Read moreMacron and Scholz call for ‘re-balancing’ EU-China trade relations
“Leverage flies out the window if European leaders are sending different messages to Xi,” said Noah Barkin, a senior adviser at the Rhodium Group and close follower of EU-China relations.
Ukraine talks
(Reuters)
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