France's Macron set to press China's Xi on trade, Ukraine

5/5/2024 17:19

        French President Emmanuel Macron will likely urge China's President Xi Jinping, who arrives in Paris on Sunday for a rare visit, to reduce trade imbalances and to use his influence with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
        
        Macron's hopes are unlikely to be easily fulfilled during a time of mounting trade disputes between Europe and China.
        
        France is backing a European Union probe into Chinese electric vehicle exports, and in January, Beijing opened an investigation into mostly French-made imports of brandy, a move widely seen as a tit-for-tat retaliation for a growing set of EU probes.
        
        "We want to obtain reciprocity of exchanges and have the elements of our economic security taken into account," Macron said in an interview with French newspaper La Tribune on Sunday ahead of Xi's two-day visit, his first trip to the region in five years.
        
        Xi was due to arrive at around 4 p.m. (1400 GMT). His official meetings will include talks with Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen.