‘France always a Chinese priority’: in Europe to mend ties, top diplomat Wang Yi urges Macron to avoid decoupling

Name: Berlin stops Chinese companies from investing in German chip makers over security concerns
Uploaded: 2023-02-16T06:03:03.000Z
Duration: 2 min 38 s
Description: Berlin stops Chinese companies from investing in German chip makers over security concerns

Director of China’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission meets French president and foreign minister to encourage free trade and cooperation

His last European stop is expected to be Moscow in the lead-up to the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

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Wang Yi shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Paris on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Lo Hoi-ying

Published: 2:03pm, 16 Feb 2023Updated: 5:34pm, 16 Feb 2023

Beijing has urged France against decoupling from China, calling on Paris to boost tech cooperation and provide a fair environment for Chinese businesses amid a chip ban by the United States.

Wang Yi, director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, began a week-long Europe trip by meeting French President Emmanuel Macron behind closed doors at the Elysee Palace on Wednesday before talks with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna later that day.

According to a Xinhua report, one of Wang’s key messages to Macron was that China has always regarded France as a priority for cooperation and is willing to engage in more high-level exchanges.

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Berlin stops Chinese companies from investing in German chip makers over security concerns

In the meeting with Colonna, Wang was quoted by Xinhua as saying: “As globalisation encounters headwinds and individual countries engage in decoupling and disconnection, China and France should continue to practise multilateralism, defend free trade and strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation.

“It is hoped that the French side will provide a fair and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies.”

Wang said China was willing to open up new prospects for Sino-French relations, inject new impetus into the development of China-EU relations, push for greater international cooperation and help tackle global challenges.

It is Wang’s first trip to Europe since he took the top foreign ministry job last year, and he is expected to seek improved ties with European countries ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine war.