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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Xi’s invitation to the Pyrenees echoes 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 president’s summer retreat French in the fortress of Bregancon, in south-eastern France.

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

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

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

European hopes of ordering an Airbus plane 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 for months over a new order of planes.

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

Meanwhile, French cognac producers 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 comments on the matter during his numerous public statements on Monday.

Source: Terra

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