French President Emmanuel Macron will grant an audience Friday to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who is touring Europe this week amid high tension between Beijing and Washington, the presidency said on Wednesday (August 26th).
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The Head of State will receive him at 3.30 p.m. (1.30 p.m. GMT) at the Presidential Palace of the Elysee Palace as part of the “ strategic dialogue ” between France and China, the presidency said. Wang Yi on Tuesday began his visit to five European countries through Italy, where he signed two trade agreements, including one on the supply of gas.
This trip, which is his first out of China since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, must then take him to the Netherlands, France, Germany and Norway, as European countries protested against the crackdown in Hong Kong. Beijing for its part spoke out against the restrictions decided by several countries, including France, on the activities of the Chinese giant Huawei in the development of 5G.
In Paris, Mr. Wang will meet his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian and will speak on Sunday before Ifri (French Institute of International Relations). " China is all at the same time a partner, a competitor and a systematic rival ", underlined the head of the French diplomacy Wednesday at the Summer University of the French employers (Medef) near Paris.
" Our objective remains to rebalance our trade and investment relations from above ", and this " by speaking with one voice at European level ", in particular with Germany, in order to defend our interests more " effectively. », Noted Jean-Yves Le Drian. " It is a question of obtaining from China a reciprocal opening of its market ", he insisted, deploring the " many restrictive practices which persist there ", " the forced transfers of technologies " and " unfair competition " with Chinese companies.
Believing it essential to maintain regular links with Chinese leaders, Emmanuel Macron has undertaken to visit China once a year, which he did in January 2018 and then in November 2019 with, in March 2019, a visit of President Xi Ji Ping in Paris.