France hopes to establish a framework for ties between Brussels and Beijing “that serves mutual interests” when President Emmanuel Macron visits China next week, an Elysee Palace source said.
“The purpose of [Macron’s] strategic conversation with President Xi Jinping is for Europe to be respected as a major partner of China and not as a variable in tensions,” the source – who chose to remain anonymous, citing professional norms in France – said during a briefing on Thursday.
Macron will visit China from Wednesday to Friday next week and will meet Xi in both Beijing and Chengdu, Sichuan, in the southwest of the country.
In a bid to stabilise relations between China and Europe, Macron will propose a rebalancing of trade, commitments on security and peace, and that a new kind of relationship between the two sides be established, according to the source.
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The source said Macron would express to Xi “a very clear desire to establish a framework for Sino-European relations that serves mutual interests”.
“Not one determined by what happens between China and Russia or between China and the United States, but really based on China’s recognition that Europe is a major partner, and that in Europe – by definition – it has fundamental interests, especially regarding peace and security in Ukraine,” the source said.
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“China needs advanced chips; Europe needs secure access to rare earths; and both sides have a mutual interest in sharing and accelerating technological innovation,” the source said.
“This is the basis on which the president wants to operate, rather than following what the Americans want or what the Chinese want in their relationship with the Americans.”