French President Emmanuel Macron used a high-profile meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to push for increased Chinese investment in France, seeking to narrow a persistent and politically sensitive trade gap that has grown to roughly €47 billion. According to reporting by Bloomberg, Macron told Xi that Europe urgently needs a clearer framework to attract Chinese capital, while also cautioning that China’s expanding global trade surplus has reached unsustainable levels. He added that Europe must become more competitive, and China should accelerate efforts to bolster domestic consumption to balance the relationship. A trade war, he warned, would be the worst possible outcome.
Xi described their talks as frank and friendly, emphasizing that China and France agreed to expand cooperation in areas including aerospace, aviation and nuclear energy, as well as emerging fields such as digital technology, green industries and biopharmaceuticals. The meeting took place during Macron’s three-day state visit to China, which will conclude in Sichuan province. Despite public warmth between the two leaders, a number of political and economic disputes remain unresolved, including escalating trade frictions and mutual concerns about market access.
Trade imbalance has become a central theme of Macron’s diplomacy ahead of France’s hosting of the G-7 summit next year. While France is a major exporter of aeronautics and luxury goods to China, investment flows have lagged, leaving Paris seeking more direct Chinese participation in its economy. At a China-France Business Council gathering, Xi endorsed deeper Chinese corporate investment in France, calling the country an indispensable partner and insisting that economic interdependence should be viewed as a strength, not a risk.
Relations have grown tense in recent years, particularly after the European Union imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles — a move backed strongly by Paris. Beijing retaliated by setting minimum price requirements on French cognac, raising fears among French pork and dairy producers that they could be targeted next. Macron said progress had been made on agrifood exports but offered no specifics. He also raised concerns about global supply-chain disruptions, an implicit reference to China’s export controls on key minerals such as rare earths. Beijing has since suspended some of those restrictions under a trade truce with the United States, even as the EU seeks to reduce its reliance on Chinese inputs through new mines, export controls and expanded recycling efforts.
Macron and Xi presided over the signing of 12 cooperation agreements covering natural resources, investment, social welfare, aging, and even panda-related exchanges. Analysts said the French president’s push to rebalance the economic relationship will not produce immediate results but is necessary as global trade enters a new phase. Macron also urged closer French-Chinese coordination on the war in Ukraine, calling for a moratorium on strikes targeting critical infrastructure. Xi said China supports a fair, binding agreement acceptable to all parties and will continue to play a constructive diplomatic role. He also announced $100 million in Chinese aid for Palestine’s reconstruction.
The meeting unfolded as China looks to France — a permanent UN Security Council member — for diplomatic support in its dispute with Japan over Taiwan’s status. Tensions have risen since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that a conflict over Taiwan could pose an existential threat to Japan. On the eve of the Macron-Xi summit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned France that Beijing and Paris, as victors of World War II, must not allow Japan to “stir up troubles.” Macron did not address Taiwan publicly, while French officials reiterated the need to uphold the One China policy.
