The President of China, Xi Jinping, began this Monday (6) his first trip to Europe since the Covid pandemic with a visit to his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, together with the leader of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the Élysée Palace.
During the trilateral meeting, Xi highlighted that China, France and the European Union (EU) “want a quick ceasefire and the return of peace to Europe, and support a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis.”
“The parties must jointly oppose the extension and escalation of fighting, create the conditions for peace talks, protect international energy and food security, and maintain stable industrial and supply chains,” he added.
Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, Xi said that “the urgent task is to achieve a global ceasefire as quickly as possible”, in addition to stating that the “fundamental priority is to guarantee humanitarian assistance” to Gaza, while the main solution is the implementation of “the two-state solution”.
According to him, “China supports Palestine’s full membership of the UN and a broader, more authoritative and effective international peace conference.”
Furthermore, he reinforced that China’s energy industry “has made real progress in open competition and represents advanced production capacity.” “Not only does it increase supply and alleviate global inflation pressure, but it also contributes significantly to the world’s climate response and green economy.”
For her part, Von der Leyen emphasized that the leaders also discussed economic and trade issues, emphasizing that there are imbalances that raise serious concerns, and everyone is ready to defend “our economy if necessary.”
“Chinese subsidized products, such as electric cars or steel, are flooding the European market, while China is not increasing domestic demand,” she noted, warning that “the EU cannot tolerate practices that lead to its deindustrialization.” .
The French president explained that, “very clearly, the international situation needs this Euro-Chinese dialogue more than ever”, warned against a “logic of disaggregation that would be harmful at an economic level” and once again called for “fair rules for all ” at a commercial level. .
