French President Emmanuel Macron recently completed a three-day state visit to China accompanied by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, focusing on improving their strained relationship.
China has called for Europe to oppose unilateralism and work with China, Russia, and other major powers to maintain global stability.
Although the visit has been deemed a diplomatic success, there have been no concrete resolutions regarding the Ukraine war and the economic and geopolitical rifts.
- Experts remain skeptical about the future of Brussels' engagement with Beijing.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping supported Europe's strategic autonomy and emphasized that a third party should not control the China-Europe relationship.
- He also urged China skeptics in Brussels, including von der Leyen, to distance themselves from Washington's adversarial approach to Beijing.
- Macron has sought to position France as a balancing power between China and the U.S., carefully avoiding sensitive issues.
n Thursday, Airbus signed deals to open a new assembly line in China, doubling its capacity.
- French state utility EDF and Chinese utility CGN, both major operators of nuclear plants, signed a deal to renew a long-standing partnership.
