He has not set foot on European soil since 2019. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, therefore, during which he greatly reduced his travel abroad. After Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China last April, this time it is Xi Jinping who is expected in France on May 6 and 7. The Chinese president will then continue his European tour with a trip to Serbia and Hungary, Hua Chunying, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced on Monday. 20 minutes takes stock of this visit.
Where will Xi Jinping go?
As is the tradition for each state visit, the most important in the protocol hierarchy, the Chinese president and his wife Peng Liyuan will be welcomed on May 6 upon their arrival on French soil with a military ceremony. The review of French troops generally takes place at Les Invalides but can also take place at the Arc de Triomphe. Accompanied by a detachment of the Republican Guard, Xi Jinping will then go to the Élysée where a state dinner is planned in the party hall.
After this formal day, the French and Chinese presidential couples will go the next day to the Hautes-Pyrénées where the French head of state wants to share a more intimate moment with his counterpart. We do not yet know the program for the day, although a visit to the summit of the Pic du Midi is not excluded. Emmanuel Macron will in any case be on familiar ground, since he often went in his childhood to the Hautes-Pyrénées to visit his grandmother, who died in 2013 and who lived in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Last year, Xi Jinping received his guest in Guangzhou for a tea ceremony at the governor’s residence of Guangdong province, where his father, Xi Zhongxun, lived when he held that post from 1978 to 1981.
What will the two presidents talk about?
There should be no shortage of topics for conversation between the two men. Starting with the geopolitical situation marked by the war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas. A year ago in China, Emmanuel Macron called on Xi Jinping to “bring Russia to reason” with regard to Ukraine “and everyone to the negotiating table”. But the diplomatic progress expected by Paris ultimately did not take place.
A year later, France still believes that on the Ukrainian conflict, dialogue with China, Moscow’s main political and economic ally, remains a priority. “We must continue to engage China which, objectively, is the international actor which has the most important levers to change Moscow’s calculations,” says a French diplomatic source, while recognizing that it does not Don’t expect a major turning point overnight. Calling for a peace solution, the Chinese authorities, who officially say they are neutral, have never condemned the Russian invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin is also due to visit China in May.
A birthday to celebrate
Xi Jinping’s visit to France will also be an opportunity to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In this context, the two presidents will discuss “commercial issues, scientific, cultural and sporting cooperation as well as joint actions in the face of global challenges, in particular the climate emergency, the protection of biodiversity and the financial situation of the most vulnerable”, according to the French presidency.