Macron and Xi’s Guangzhou rendezvous a sign of China’s enthusiasm for French leader, analysts say

In a rare meeting outside Beijing, French president to reunite with Chinese counterpart in southern metropolis on Friday after talks in capital city
Macron will also meet investors and answer questions from university students while in the export powerhouse of Guangdong

China-EU relations

Shi Jiangtao

Published: 10:30pm, 5 Apr 2023

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In a bid to reset ties with Europe, Beijing is expected to launch a charm offensive to woo French President Emmanuel Macron, who landed in the Chinese capital on Wednesday afternoon for a three-day state visit.

Chinse observers said a rare meeting between Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping to be held outside the capital city on Friday highlighted Beijing’s enthusiasm towards the French leader and his attempt to carve his own “third way” of handling China without being confrontational.

Speaking upon his arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, the French president indicated France would seek engagement with China, especially in commercial areas.

“We must not disassociate ourselves, separate ourselves from China,” Macron said, adding that France would “commit proactively to continue to have a commercial relationship with China”.

Macron also said China “had a major role” to play in finding an end to the Ukraine war, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.

After an official meeting and a state dinner with Xi on Thursday, Macron will travel to the southern city of Guangzhou on Friday, where the two are expected to have another sit-down and a private dinner.

Guangzhou is the provincial capital of Guangdong, an export powerhouse and one of China’s most affluent regions.

Macron will also meet Chinese investors and answer questions from some 1,000 Chinese students at Sun Yat-sen University.

French officials said preparations had been “smoother and friendlier” than Macron’s previous China trips, according to Bloomberg.

In Beijing trip, European leaders’ unity on China will be put to the test

Meanwhile, China’s state-controlled media has hailed his excursion to the southern metropolis as proof of close ties between Beijing and Paris.

“Macron’s meeting with Xi in Guangzhou underlines the importance both sides have attached to this visit,” said Cui Hongjian, director of European studies at the China Institute of International Studies, a think tank affiliated with the foreign ministry.

It is rare for Xi to meet foreign dignitaries outside Beijing.

Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had their first two-day “informal summit” in Wuhan in April 2018, including at least four one-on-one meetings, soon after a border stand-off between the two countries.

Also in 2018, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin took a high-speed train to Tianjin, the northern municipality neighbouring Beijing, and watched an ice hockey game together.

Chinese officials prepare for the arrival of Macron at Beijing Capital International Airport on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Macron will be the first sitting French president to visit Guangzhou, according to Chinese state media. Cui said Guangdong province was chosen because of its unique position in China’s economic development as well as in Sino-French ties.

France was China’s third-largest trading partner in the European Union last year, following Germany and the Netherlands, and Guangdong accounts for about a fifth of China’s total trade with France.

“By visiting some French-invested projects in Guangdong, Macron’s visit will give him a better understanding of the new phase of China’s open-door policy and high-level bilateral cooperation and help France and Europe to build confidence in cooperation with China,” Cui said.

“Xi’s second meeting with Macron in Guangzhou will probably be more focused on economic and trade cooperation.”

Macron to take French business leaders to China next week

Xi’s family connections in Guangdong, where his father Xi Zhongxun was governor in the 1980s, were also one of the reasons the southern metropolis was picked, a French official told the South China Morning Post earlier.

Another mainland-based political analyst, who requested anonymity, said Beijing’s special treatment of Macron showed it had high hopes for the French leader in helping bridge differences between China and Europe.

“China needs Europe in the midst of its rivalry with the US. And from China’s perspective, Macron, who has advocated close economic ties with China and touted the benefits of not picking sides between China and the US, appears to be in a good position to help repair ties between Beijing and Brussels,” he said.

He said both Xi and Macron, who was struggling to contain embarrassing pension protests at home, needed to make the visit a success.

“While Macron needs the trip to demonstrate he is up for the leadership role in Europe, Xi also needs to score diplomatic points to show that with important friends like Paris, Beijing is not isolated,” the analyst said.

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Cui also noted the state visit – the first in more than three years by Macron, who helped negotiate a now-suspended landmark investment agreement between China and the EU – was of particular importance for Beijing.

“It comes as China is trying to relaunch its offline diplomacy after three years of Covid restrictions, and Europe is undoubtedly one of the most important partners China needs to maintain.”

“In the last few years there have been some problems and challenges and the relationship between China and Europe has become increasingly complicated,” he said.

“Against this background, I believe that both sides attach great importance to Macron’s visit, not only in recognition of France’s status as a great power, but also in the hopes of repairing and strengthening ties with Europe.”

China unlikely to be swayed on Ukraine but EU talks may be ‘starting point’

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to be high on Macron’s agenda. The French leader agreed with US President Joe Biden in a telephone call on Wednesday to “engage China to accelerate the end of the war in Ukraine and take part in building sustainable peace in the region,” the Elysee Palace said.

But Chinese analysts played down hopes for any breakthroughs on the Ukraine issue.

“I think both sides will, based on their respective positions, fully express and communicate with each other and try to find a convergence,” Cui said.

“However, the two sides will not be in complete agreement on this issue because their positions and the relevance of the Ukraine issue, including the extent of their involvement in the war, are different.”