Macron tries to convince Xi to make trade concessions on trip to the Pyrenees

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Pyrenees Mountains on Tuesday, the second day of a trip during which the leader of the Asian powerhouse showed few signs of being ready to offer major concessions on trade or in foreign policy.

Macron will take Xi to lunch in the mountains that are dear to him as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother.

The French president’s advisers described this visit as a breach of protocol to have the chance to speak directly with Xi, without the presence of many advisers from both sides.

One of Macron’s main objectives in the visit is to try to convince Xi to reduce the trade imbalance between the two regions, with better access for European companies in China and fewer subsidies for Chinese exporters.

Macron has a history of trying to establish personal relationships outside of protocol with his peers, even those with whom he vehemently disagrees.

Xi’s invitation to the Pyrenees has echoes of when then-US President Donald Trump joined Macron in 2017 to watch the Bastille Day parade, or Russian leader Vladidmir Putin’s 2019 trip to the country’s summer retreat. French president at the Bregancon fortress in southeastern France.

“Emmanuel Macron tried this narcissistic ‘I flatter the tyrant’ diplomacy with Vladimir Putin for five years, with the Bregancon fortress… the camaraderie,” Raphael Glucksmann, who leads French socialists in the European Parliament, told RTL radio.

“And what did all this end with? The invasion of Ukraine and the threats to our democracies,” Glucksmann said.

French and Chinese companies concluded some agreements on Monday covering the energy, finance and transport sectors on the sidelines of Xi’s visit, but most were cooperation agreements or renewed commitments to work together, and there were no significant deals.

European hopes of an Airbus plane order to coincide with Xi’s visit appear to have been dashed, with the two sides agreeing only to expand cooperation.

Industry sources say the two sides have been in talks over a new plane order for months.

Historically, China has flagged large jet orders timed to coincide with state visits, but negotiations between Airbus and China’s CASC purchasing agency are likely to be difficult and there is no guarantee they will result in a deal, the sources said.

Meanwhile, French cognac makers cheered on Tuesday when Xi presented what Macron described as an “open attitude” towards a trade dispute between the two countries.

A French diplomatic source said China will not impose taxes and customs duties on French cognac pending an investigation into the dispute. Xi made no comment on this during his many public statements on Monday.