On December 5, Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan accompanied Macron and his wife on a visit to the historic Dujiangyan Irrigation System. According to AFP, Macron said he was "deeply moved" by this arrangement, which differed from the usual official protocol.Image credit: Jeanne Accorsini/Bestimage/IMAGO
(Deutsche Welle Chinese) Photos on Chinese social media show Macron jogging in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, on Friday (December 5), and he appears to be greeting passersby. Chinese netizens described the French president as "extremely relaxed."
Compared to the serious atmosphere of the talks held the previous day at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other issues , the atmosphere in Sichuan on Friday was noticeably more relaxed. Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan accompanied Macron and his wife Brigitte on a visit to the historically significant Dujiangyan Irrigation System.
According to Chinese state media reports, Xi Jinping introduced the history and significance of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System to French President Macron, allowing the French president to understand this ancient Chinese flood control and irrigation system. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System dates back to the 3rd century BC and continues to play a vital role in irrigation and flood control in the Sichuan Basin; it is also a World Heritage Site.
According to AFP, Macron said he was "deeply moved" by this arrangement, which differed from the usual official protocol.
Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan, and the Macron couple also enjoyed tea and conversation at the Huaigu Pavilion in Dujiangyan. Furthermore, Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan invited the Macron couple to lunch in Chengdu.
The Reuters report specifically noted that Xi Jinping's accompanying Macron on his visit to Chengdu was "very rare," even when Trump visited China during his first term in 2017, Xi only accompanied the US president to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
When Xi Jinping visited France in May 2024, Macron hosted him in the Pyrenees Mountains. The Pyrenees hold special significance for Macron, as it is where he spent his childhood. According to Chinese state media reports, Xi Jinping specifically mentioned the Pyrenees trip while accompanying Macron in Dujiangyan, saying, "Last year you invited me to your hometown, the Hauts-Pyrenees department. I believe this trip will further enrich your understanding of China."
According to AFP, in addition to visiting Dujiangyan, Macron also met with university students in Chengdu and met with his French ping-pong buddies who were competing in China. News agency photos show Macron also showing off his ping-pong skills in Chengdu.
Macron's wife, Brigitte, went to see the giant pandas, especially Yuanmeng, who was born in France in 2017 and will return to China in 2023. Brigitte is Yuanmeng's godmother.
Macron stated that the visit symbolized mutual trust and reflected the desire to "work together" amidst increasingly tense international situations and widening trade imbalances.
More details – Macron's visit to China: "He can't take the same risks as in 2023."
Analysts: Macron's visit has yielded little result so far.
However, analysts have not given high praise to Macron's visit to China . Reuters, citing analysts, pointed out that so far, Macron's visit has yielded little beyond boosting Beijing's diplomatic credibility. Investors are closely watching whether Macron can secure any major business deals or ease trade tensions between the EU and China. However, the meeting in Beijing on Thursday only resulted in 12 cooperation agreements covering areas such as population aging, nuclear energy, and panda conservation, with no specific amounts disclosed.
“I think they (the French side) originally thought Xi Jinping could provide a lot of support because Europe is actively promoting its economic security strategy… but that’s not the case,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, a senior fellow at the think tank Bruegel, told Reuters.
Reuters reports that Beijing may see maintaining friendly relations with France as a way to expand its influence in the EU, but its ability to make significant concessions to Paris is quite limited. For example, it is widely believed that China will not approve the long-awaited large order for Airbus aircraft, a deal that is Beijing's leverage against Washington, which is urging Beijing to make new purchase commitments to Boeing. Xi Jinping is also unlikely to ease import conditions on French brandy and pork, as doing so would weaken Beijing's position in negotiations with Brussels regarding tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles .
Given China's recent reaffirmation of support for Russia , Xi Jinping is unlikely to offer Macron any breakthroughs on the Ukraine war for the French president to take back to Europe.
A Chinese government advisor told Reuters that the EU now realizes it is too dependent on the United States, and that "Europe now needs to engage in more mutually beneficial trade with China." The advisor, who requested anonymity, said, "The EU should seriously rethink its China policy and not tie it too closely to the issues of Russia and Ukraine."
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