French President Emmanuel Macron, his wife Brigitte Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his wife Peng Liyuan watch folklore dancers at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees moutains, as part of his two-day state visit to France, on May 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron was on Tuesday hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping at one of his beloved childhood haunts in the Pyrenees mountains, pressing a message to Beijing not to support Russia’s war against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade.

The first day of Mr. Xi’s state visit to France, his first to Europe since 2019, saw respectful but sometimes robust exchanges between the two men during a succession of talks on Monday.

The peaceful mountain village of Bagnere-de-Bigorre and nearby La Mongie — as well as lunch accompanied by their wives, Peng Liyuan and Brigitte Macron — will allow Mr. Xi and Mr. Macron to explore these issues in relative privacy.

Mr. Macron personally welcomed Mr. Xi when he arrived at Tarbes airport in southwest France and the leaders headed to a mountain restaurant to dine on local lamb, cheeses and wines.

Europe is concerned that while officially neutral over the Ukraine conflict, Beijing is essentially backing Russia, which is using Chinese machine tools for weapons production.

After a bilateral meeting with Mr. Xi, Mr. Macron welcomed China’s “commitments” not to supply arms to Russia, while also expressing concern over possible deliveries of dual-use technology.

French President Emmanuel Macron, China’s President Xi Jinping and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attend a trilateral meeting at the Elysee Palace, Paris, as part of the Chinese president’s two-day state visit to France on May 6, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on May 6 that the EU would not shy away from taking tough measures to protect its economy and security, amid tense trade relations with China.

“China that plays fair is good for all of us,” she said following trilateral talks in Paris with Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron. “Europe will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and its security,” she said. “We will defend our companies, we will defend our economies.”

Ms. Von der Leyen said there were “imbalances that remain significant” and “a matter of great concern”. She singled out Chinese subsidies for electric cars and steel that were “flooding the European market”.

Chinas also continued to “massively support its manufacturing sector” whose surplus production could not be absorbed by the rest of the world.

Ms. Von der Leyen also said China was not allowing EU companies fair access to its market. While she was confident of possible progress in talks, von der Leyen also said that “we stand ready to make full use of our trade defence instruments if this is necessary”, adding that “Europe cannot accept market distorting practises”.

Mr. Macron had already pressed Mr. Xi on the Chinese leader’s state visit to France to accept fair global trade rules for EU-China exchanges. “The future of our continent will very clearly depend on our ability to continue to develop relations with China in a balanced manner,” Mr. Macron said.