French President Emmanuel Macron will travel to China next week in his first state visit to the Asian country since his victory in the election last year.
Macron is expected to discuss a wide range of issues with the Chinese leadership, but will focus on developing financial and trade ties with the world’s second-largest economy. During his trip, the French president will be accompanied by representative of major French companies.
On Thursday, the French presidential office said a number of commercial deals will be signed during his three-day visit. The two sides are also expected to announce the establishment of a $1.2 billion Franco-Chinese investment fund.
On the second day of his visit, Macron will also meet with French and Chinese businessmen and sign deals with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Paris has said that China is France’s biggest commercial partner in Asia. However, France’s trade deficit with China is about $36 billion, and Macron wants to sign new deals that would guarantee access to the Chinese market for French businesses.
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In particular, the French government wants to open a market in China for beef products and will ask Beijing to lift non-tariff barriers for French wines and spirits.
Among other issues on the agenda, the talks will focus on the settlement of the North Korean crisis, the fight against terrorism and international efforts against climate change.
France Seeks Closer Ties With China
Paris wants to deepen trade ties with China, as well as Russia, with Beijing being a kind of counterweight to increasingly unstable relations with the United States and Britain, French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
The minister also criticized Washington for the threat of extraterritorial sanctions.
Extraterritorial sanctions would make the US "the de facto gendarme of global trade," Le Maire said.
The minister also expressed hopes that Western sanctions against Russia will be lifted, which would lead to the restoration of trade relations between Paris and Moscow.