Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit several European countries in May. The first country where the leader’s European tour from Beijing is scheduled to begin, the first after the COVID-19 pandemic, is France.
Xi is expected on a state visit to France on May 6 and 7 to discuss the war in Ukraine with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, which will also take him to the Hautes-Pyrenees in the country’s southwest. for a more personal trip, the Elysee Palace announced on Monday, according to AFP. The visit is part of a wider European tour that includes Serbia and Hungary, informs News.ro.
“This visit takes place on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and follows the visit of the President of the Republic to Beijing and Guangzhou in April 2023,” the press office of the French presidency said in a statement.
This is the beginning of the Chinese president’s first European tour in Europe since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, quoted by Xinhua, apart from France, Xi Jinping will also visit Serbia and Hungary, as part of his European tour, scheduled for May 5-10.
The discussions in France “will focus on international crises, primarily on the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, on commercial aspects, on scientific, cultural and sports cooperation, as well as on our common actions in the face of global challenges, especially the urgency climate, biodiversity protection and the financial situation of the most vulnerable countries”, added the French presidency.
A year ago, in China, Emmanuel Macron asked Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to its senses” regarding Ukraine “and everyone to the negotiating table”.
The Chinese president then declared that he was ready to call his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the French delegation. The phone call took place shortly thereafter. But the diplomatic progress expected by Paris on the Russian-Ukrainian front stopped here, AFP notes.
Publisher: MI
