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Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron will hold talks on Monday, with trade tensions emerging as a central theme of the Chinese president’s first trip to Europe in five years.
Ahead of the state visit, during which the Chinese leader is expected to dine with his French counterpart at the Élysée Palace on Monday evening before visiting the Pyrenees on Tuesday, Xi raised the prospect of better access to the Chinese market for French exports such as cosmetics and agricultural goods.
“We welcome more high-quality French agricultural products and cosmetics to the Chinese market to meet the Chinese people’s ever-growing needs for a better life,” Xi wrote in a signed article in the French newspaper Le Figaro, reprinted in English by the Communist became the party mouthpiece People’s Daily.
The EU has launched a series of anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese products amid concerns that China’s industrial overcapacity could lead to dumping, particularly of electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels and other green energy-related goods, into bloc markets.
France has indicated it will closely scrutinize Chinese imports of electric vehicles and last year launched a package of measures tying its subsidies and tax credits for the industry to environmental regulations that favor European manufacturers.
Xi’s comments on cosmetics, in particular, may be aimed at wooing a sector of European manufacturing that is increasingly worried about market access in China.
European cosmetics makers have complained that new rules on everything from animal testing to labeling are either too vague or impractical, slowing their ability to sell in the Chinese market.
European companies operating in China generally argue that the country’s authorities are increasingly erecting administrative hurdles in several market sectors.
The Chinese authorities deny there is an “oversupply” in their industries and describe the West’s accusations as “hype” intended to justify protectionism. Beijing has implemented various packages to encourage foreign investment.
In addition to Macron, Xi is expected to meet with EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Monday. Von der Leyen has been a strong advocate of “de-risking” Europe’s trade relations with China.
Chinese state media widely covered Xi’s visit to France, which is expected to be followed by trips to Serbia and Hungary, countries considered more closely aligned with Beijing.
Chinese commentators have highlighted comments Macron made after his visit to China last year that Europe should carve out its own strategic independence and become a “third pole” in geopolitics, independent of Beijing and Washington.
Nationalist Chinese commentator Hu Xijin wrote on the microblogging platform Weibo that the core of Gaullism, which is “rooted in the bones of the French people,” is “strategic autonomy,” adding that Macron had warned Europe against “America’s to be a “follower”.
Analysts said China has long sought to further divisions between Europe and the United States, with Beijing arguing that Europeans should pursue their own strategic policies, particularly on issues such as the war in Ukraine.
In his signed article, Xi also pointed to a recent initiative offering visa-free access to tourists from France and other European countries.
He said China has “fully opened up” its manufacturing sector and supported more Chinese companies to invest in France. In return, he said he hoped Chinese companies coming to France could “operate in a fair and equal business environment.”
Economists say China needs to attract more foreign investment to shore up its fragile economic recovery, given a years-long real estate slowdown and weakening consumer demand.
The People’s Daily also published an interview with Olivier Malet, chief financial officer of Airbus China, highlighting the two countries’ “high-tech cooperation.”