Ukraine, trade, pandas: What China's Xi and France's Macron discussed in Beijing

China said it was unfastened to importing much goods from France successful speech for a "fair, conducive environment" for Chinese businesses successful the European nation, President Xi Jinping told his counterpart Emmanuel Macron connected Thursday arsenic they met successful Beijing.

The French president kicked disconnected a 3-day sojourn to China connected Wednesday — his archetypal travel to Beijing successful much than 2 years — connected the heels of increasing frictions implicit a scope of topics including commercialized imbalance and the long-running warfare successful Ukraine.

In a abstracted readout from the French government, Macron told Xi that the 2 countries indispensable enactment unneurotic based connected "a balanced relationship," portion urging Beijing to assistance extremity the Russia-Ukraine war.

Macron said helium welcomed Beijing's "renewed willingness to facilitate entree to the Chinese marketplace for French products, peculiarly cultivation goods," including wine, pork, poultry and beef, according to a Google translation of the connection successful French.

The countries volition enactment toward establishing a model that allows for accrued Chinese nonstop concern successful Europe, peculiarly successful France, wherever it volition make much jobs, Macron said.

The 2 leaders besides signed respective deals covering energy, agriculture, acquisition and environment, according to the official readout from Chinese authorities media, which did not elaborate connected the agreed terms.

Xi besides called for deepening bilateral collaboration successful aerospace, atomic energy, integer economy, biopharmaceutical and artificial quality sectors.

The readout reflects Paris' "ambition to beryllium a stabilizing unit successful EU-China relations," said Daniel Balazs, a probe chap astatine S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies successful Singapore, noting that the EU's broader purpose would beryllium to sphere constructive ties with China contempt recurring frictions.

"Good ties with France besides guarantee that China has friends wrong the EU erstwhile Brussels makes economical and governmental decisions that interaction Chinese interests," said Balazs.

Tensions betwixt Beijing and Paris escalated past twelvemonth erstwhile Macron backed the European Union's determination to enforce tariffs connected Chinese-made electrical vehicles, prompting Beijing to retaliate with minimum terms requirements connected French cognac makers.

Macron is expected to lobby the Chinese person to not enforce akin measures connected French pork and dairy products, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, arsenic Beijing has weighed those duties successful effect to the levies connected EVs.

Macron had besides pushed Brussels to respond with its toughest commercialized measures connected China aft Beijing restricted its uncommon world exports that had triggered worries of proviso shortages astatine European carmakers.

The bilateral gathering comes astatine a clip erstwhile Beijing is locked successful a diplomatic spat with Japan implicit Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's connection that signaled a Chinese penetration of Taiwan could gully a subject effect from Japan.

Without naming the democratically ruled island, China said Macron agreed to the "one China policy" — a diplomatic word commonly utilized to bespeak Taiwan arsenic portion of China. The connection from French authorities did not notation Taiwan arsenic portion of the discussion.

On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot that helium hoped Paris to proceed "showing knowing for and supporting China's morganatic stance" and forestall Japan from "stirring up troubles" implicit Taiwan.

The Xi-Macron gathering "provides a level for top-level engagement [but] whether the problems tin beryllium solved is different question," said Tianchen Xu, elder economist astatine Economist Intelligence Unit.

A cardinal extremity of Macron's sojourn was expected to beryllium connected addressing what he's called "global imbalances" including over-production successful China and Beijing's dependence connected exports which helium says leads to planetary commercialized imbalance. France's commercialized equilibrium with China stood astatine astir 20 cardinal euros (about $23 billion) successful 2024.

"Macron tin marque his lawsuit for a concern among equals to Xi Jinping. This includes opening China's wider marketplace to European companies and perchance paving the mode to immoderate joint-ventures successful Europe successful not-so-sensitive domains," said Philippe Le Corre, elder chap connected overseas argumentation astatine New York-based Center for China Analysis.

The 2 presidents exchanged views connected the Ukraine war, with Xi saying that China volition "continue to play a constructive relation successful resolving the struggle and enactment European nations successful pushing for a balanced, effective, and sustainable information framework."

Macron has agelong been urging Xi to usage his power connected Russian President Vladimir Putin to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine.

"I anticipation China volition articulation our telephone and our efforts to achieve, arsenic soon arsenic possible, astatine the precise slightest a cease-fire successful the signifier of a moratorium connected strikes targeting captious infrastructure," Macron said successful a statement. 

This travel offers a uncommon accidental to get Paris' views connected Ukraine to a Chinese enactment which has been Russia's "all-weather partner," particularly since the warfare started successful 2022, said CCA's Le Corre.

After ceremonial meetings successful Beijing the 2 leaders volition caput to the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu — location of China's elephantine panda breeding center. Last month, France returned a brace of loaned pandas to the Chinese metropolis aft 13 years, with their accomplishment being been hailed arsenic a motion of warming diplomatic ties.

The Chinese embassy promised caller pandas would soon beryllium dispatched to France. Xi, who emphasized connected expanding taste speech betwixt the 2 countries, said that China and France had agreed to a new woody connected panda protection.

— CNBC's Charlotte Reed contributed to this story.