Macron Gets an Extravagant Welcome from His Chinese Counterpart Xi

In what is considered a rare scene, French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China was a sumptuously rich affair with an extravagant welcome by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

  

 China has been continuously trying to pursue some key allies in the European Union in an intensifying offensive against the United States. France's Macron being an important policy driver in the E.U. is the most important one to pursue to prevent European alignment with the U.S.,  said Noah Barkin, an analyst with the Rhodium Group.

 

The U.S.-China conflict always holds consistent importance in the background of any policy frame of China as opined by Zhao Suisheng, a professor of Chinese studies and foreign policy at the University of Denver.

 

China terms this foray and other similar forays as an effort towards all-around containment, encirclement, and suppression against the U.S.

 

President Macron visited Southern China with Xi on Friday (April 7, 2023) with a tea meeting scheduled at the latter's father's residence at Guangzhou, which is the capital of a major economic and manufacturing hub Guangdong province.

 

Macron along with the E.U. chief Ursula Von Der Leyen made a failed attempt to convince China to talk Russia out on the Ukraine issue where he expressed Xi expressed willingness to talk to Ukrainian President Zelensky but not Russia. Analysts say that Macron doesn't appear to be getting much out of this trip.  Barkin said, "Macron seemed to believe he could charm Xi into shifting his approach to the war," he said. "He gave Xi a series of gifts - denouncing decoupling as a trap, bringing a huge business delegation along, and reaffirming his support for strategic autonomy - without getting much of anything in return."

 

Washington currently is taking a wait-and-see approach toward EU and Chinese engagements on the Ukraine issue and is broadly viewing China's escalated diplomatic game with an eye of skepticism.

 

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