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French President Macron arrives in Beijing for state visit

Global Times

By Zhao Yusha and Qian Jiayin Published: Dec 04, 2025 12:05 AM

At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit to China through Friday.

It is Macron's fourth state visit to China and a reciprocal visit for Xi's historic state visit to France last year that marked the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

During the visit this week, Xi will hold talks with Macron to jointly guide the development of China-France relations under the new circumstances. The two presidents will also have in-depth exchanges of views on major international and regional hotspot issues.

Macron is accompanied by his wife Brigitte and six cabinet ministers in charge of foreign affairs, the economy, agriculture, the environment, higher education and culture, as well as 35 executives from major corporations such as Airbus, EDF and Danone, along with representatives from family-owned businesses ranging from luxury goods to agri-food industries, France24 reported on Wednesday.

Macron is welcomed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Upon arrival, Macron wrote on X platform in French that, with Brigitte and the delegation accompanying us, we are very pleased to carry out this fourth state visit to China.

Saying his visit will cover Beijing and Chengdu, Macron posted that "I am committed to working with China and all our partners on these major challenges, with all the more determination as France is preparing to take on the presidency of the G7 in 2026. I am convinced of it: Together we can make the changes."

The Élysée has described the trip as having a "strategic" dimension, Radio France reported on Wednesday. In a world undergoing profound realignment, a visit to China inevitably takes on a "strategic" significance, as the Élysée puts it. The agenda goes far beyond the trade: everything is on the table - Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan and the rebuilding of the international order, along with other issues, according to Radio France.

French newspaper Les Echos reported on Tuesday that Macron hopes to use this special moment to rebuild ties and bring their positions closer together, after the twin ruptures of the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine crisis pushed China and Europe into diametrically opposed camps, bloc against bloc.

Nathalie de Gaulle, great-granddaughter of former French president Charles de Gaulle

and Chairwoman of Princeps Strategy, a business consulting firm, told the Global Times at the 2025 Imperial Springs International Forum on Wednesday that she is expecting Marcon's visit to continue the China-France strategic partnership.

Nathalie de Gaulle recalled that when her great-grandfather recognized China, it was very shocking at that time, because it was a bipolar world. "We were happy that we had his vision... I'm hoping that our two countries can follow his vision, a blend of great partnership and friendship," she said.

In April 2023, Macron visited China with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who did not accompany him this time.

Topics on agenda

Macron's visit to China will focus mainly on bilateral relations between Paris and Beijing and will also seek to revive the dialogue on trade, as the European Union has become one of the main collateral victims of the China-US trade war, Le Grand Continent, a French journal reported on Wednesday.

According to the Élysée, Macron will "carry an agenda focused on economic and trade cooperation and balance - an ambition that will also lie at the heart of France's G7 presidency in 2026." The French presidency added that the visit will address the major issues of the strategic partnership between France and China, as well as several key international dossiers and the necessary rebalancing of economic relations, Ouest-France, a French newspaper reported on Wednesday.

In recent years, China has made sustained efforts to improve the structure of its trade, including proactively expanding openness in the services sector and increasing imports, Jiang Feng, a research fellow at Shanghai International Studies University and president of the Shanghai Association of Regional and Country Studies, told the Global Times.

In contrast, France has shown fairly clear protectionist tendencies on certain trade and economic issues, such as electric vehicles, Jiang said. He noted that ultimately, trade disputes should be brought back onto the track of cooperation and resolved through dialogue and negotiation, rather than being politicized or overstretched as a security concept.

Ling Ji, vice minister of China's Ministry of Commerce and deputy China international trade representative, on Tuesday met with Henri Poupart-Lafarge, chairman and CEO of Alstom, who is in the French delegation, the ministry said on its website on Wednesday.

Besides economic and trade issues, some French media speculated that "efforts to bring an end" to the Russia-Ukraine conflict are expected to be on the agenda, as France 24 put it.

Europe has long held overly simplistic perceptions of China-Russia relations. The relationship between Beijing and Moscow is not a one-way dynamic as some in Europe portray it, but a normal bilateral relationship between two independent and sovereign states, Cui Hongjian, director of the Center for European Union and Regional Development Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

China is indeed willing to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks, but it emphasizes on doing so in its own way. Europe's perceptions of the issue differ significantly from that of China's, said Cui, noting that if Europe continues to act on the basis of a one-sided understanding, or even with the intent of pressuring China, the outcome is likely to be counterproductive.

During Macron's visit, China and France are also likely to stress their shared responsibility to uphold the post-WWII international order, as both are permanent members of the UN Security Council, some observers said.

On November 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, elaborated on China's position on the Taiwan question, stressing that provocative remarks on Taiwan by the incumbent Japanese leader are turning back the wheel of history and a violation of China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, per Xinhua.

Bonne said that France upholds the tradition of an independent foreign policy, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and understands China's legitimate position on the Taiwan question.

Demonstration effect

Recently, leaders of some other major European countries, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have indicated their willingness to visit China in the near future.

Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, last month, Merz said he plans to make his inaugural trip to China at the beginning of 2026, according to German press agency DPA.

Starmer is preparing to visit China next year, Reuters quoted sources as saying, following trips by at least four cabinet ministers since Labour was elected last year.

Once again, Macron has moved ahead of his European peers in the latest round of high-level engagement with China. Should his visit produce tangible results, it could serve as a reference point for possible future diplomacy between Beijing and other major European capitals, including Berlin and London, Cui said.

Yet Cui cautioned that any real breakthrough in relations with China would require Macron to show political resolve and to demonstrate France's tradition of strategic autonomy, rather than simply following the prevailing mood within Europe or the broader EU.