What are Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan doing in Occitania on May 7, alongside Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron ?

Xi Jinping is due to land in Paris on the evening of Sunday, May 5. XinHua – Xie Huanchi

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected on a state visit to France on May 6 and 7, 2024 to discuss international crises, including the war in Ukraine, with Emmanuel Macron, but also to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

This is the start of his first European tour since the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the Asian giant cut off many interactions with the rest of the world for a long time.

Xi Jinping is due to land in Paris on the evening of Sunday May 5, before making stops in Serbia and then Hungary, where he is expected from May 8 to 10, the authorities also confirmed on Monday Chinese.

This visit to France comes after that of the French president in Beijing and Canton in April 2023, recalled the Elysée in a press release.

"The discussions will focus on international crises, primarily the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, trade issues, scientific, cultural and sporting cooperation as well as our common actions in the face of global challenges, notably the climate emergency, the protection of biodiversity and the financial situation of the most vulnerable countries", added the French presidency.

Paris evokes a very political visit without major contracts to expect, even if Emmanuel Macron hopes to attract new Chinese investments, particularly in electric batteries.

Lin Jian, spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy, estimated for his part that the two leaders will try to "make new contributions to peace, stability, development and progress of the world".

A year ago in China, Emmanuel Macron called on Xi Jinping to "bring Russia to reason"towards Ukraine "and everyone at the negotiating table".

Shortly after, the Chinese president called his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the conflict in February 2022. But the diplomatic progress expected by Paris on the Russo-Ukrainian front was &#39 ;were stopped there. A year later, the French analysis has not changed.

"We must continue to engage China which, objectively, is the international actor with the most important levers for change the calculation of Moscow", of which it remains the main ally, we slip from a French diplomatic source, while recognizing that it is not necessary' expect a major turning point overnight.

Chinese authorities officially say they are neutral and call for a peace solution, but have never condemned the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit China in May.

"France, through this visit, demonstrates that it is one of the very few countries in the world to be able to maintain channels of discussion at all levels with the second largest economic power in the world, with China, in a context where there is a tense relationship with the United States and the United Kingdom", says -on again from a French diplomatic source.

State Dinner

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz already asked President Xi in Beijing in mid-April to put pressure on Moscow to stop its "insane campaign" in Ukraine, while affirming German-Chinese support for a peace conference planned for June in Switzerland.

The Chinese number one also received last week the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken, with whom he called on the United States to "be partners , not rivals". The US Secretary of State, for his part, said he had expressed his concerns to China about the support given to Russia, saying that the invasion of Ukraine would be more "difficult" without support from Beijing.meet

The Chinese president and his wife Peng Liyuan will be received on May 6 by Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron in Paris, where a state dinner is planned at the Élysée. On May 7, the two couples will travel to the Hautes-Pyrénées where the French head of state wants to share a more intimate moment with his counterpart.

He actually went there a lot in his childhood to visit his maternal grandmother, Germaine Noguès, who died in 2013 and who lived in Bagnères-de-Bigorre (south west).

Last year, Xi Jinping received his guest in Guangzhou for a tea ceremony at the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father, Xi Zhongxun, lived when he held this position from 1978 to 1981.