China’s Xi Jinping to visit France in early May

PARIS — Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Paris in early May, marking his first trip to Europe since the pandemic, several officials based in Paris and Brussels told POLITICO.

The Chinese leader's outreach coincides with the 60th anniversary of Paris-Beijing diplomatic relations, as China is keen to rebuild bruised relations with Europe over Xi's "no limit partnership" with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

But the mood in France is likely to be different compared with festivities that marked the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two countries, said a person familiar with preparations for the trip.

"It will be less festive and more studious given the current economic and geopolitical stakes," said the person, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue.

"We demand reciprocity in relations with China, in particular in the key area of ecological transition," he said, with reference to the debate over how far Europe should de-risk its relationship with China.

The trip, which has been months in the planning, will be closely watched in Washington and across European capitals. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also heading to China for a visit in April.

Officials told POLITICO recently that China is trying to persuade Europe to let Russia sit at the table for future peace talks, potentially in Switzerland — or Beijing will boycott such meetings.

That message was amplified, they say, during Chinese special envoy Li Hui's European tour earlier this month to discuss the future of Ukraine. On the public record, the Chinese foreign ministry said Li vowed "support [for] the timely convening of a peace conference with equal participation of all parties."

Over recent months, Beijing has been trying to rewind Europe's move toward de-risking, which it views as coming under the influence of the U.S.

China reacted furiously to the EU's unprecedented decision last month to blacklist Chinese companies over their ties with Russia. Its massive electric-vehicle industry is also close to entering a trade war with European regulators, which accuse the Chinese state of subsidizing these emerging giants.

On the other hand, Beijing is eager to ensure that European investments stay in the Chinese market, as the local economy is suffering immense pressure and rocked by an unstable real estate market.

The Xi-Macron meeting in Paris comes a year after the French president visited Beijing and Guangzhou.

During that visit, Macron doubled down on his push for strategic autonomy. Europe, he told POLITICO on the trip, must reduce its dependency on the United States and avoid getting dragged into a confrontation between China and the U.S. over Taiwan. He said “the great risk” Europe faces is that it “gets caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy."

Macron is also expected to visit China again this year, after pledging to visit the country every year in 2018. The Elysée Palace did not confirm the trip.

Giorgio Leali contributed reporting.