Visits to Beijing by French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen followed conflicting protocols. POLITICO ANALYSIS: “Macron received full red-carpet rituals in Beijing this week, celebrated at a state banquet and greeted with military parades and cannon fire in Tiananmen Square. When Macron’s plane landed, he was personally greeted by China’s foreign minister. When EU Commission President Ursula von der Arrived Line, the Minister of the Environment escorted her – at the usual passenger exit.
The choreography was particularly evident on the Thursday before the meeting in the Great Hall of the People: Chinese President Xi Jinping went down all the steps to personally welcome Macron. When von der Leyen arrived later, she had to climb the stairs alone. The Chinese state press has also shown a clear bias in favor of Macron. There have been many reports and analyzes on the Sino-French talks and relations. Leyens’ presence in a few distant sentences was dealt with politely. Appearances to the press were very different: Macron and Xi appeared together in front of the press, who were not allowed to ask questions. Von der Leyen received the media alone at the European Union branch in Beijing, where questions were accepted. But the answers were reported only in the Western media.
Macron made a small diplomatic misstep during his press appearances: He spoke twice as much as Xi and addressed him directly, a „false mistake” that infuriated the Chinese, but should not anger them in the long run. Because China wants to deal with France and develop cultural and scientific exchange. This was evident during Macron’s visit to Guangzhou. Macron gave a historic speech, as reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP): When the French ship Amphitrite left the port of La Rochelle and arrived in Canton — today’s Guangzhou — in 1698, there were no soldiers or merchants on board, but mathematicians, Macron told students and scholars. at Sun Yat-sen University. Macron said the trip was „a bit of a metaphor” for the time being. By working together in the field of science and knowledge, he said, „friendship can be cultivated.” He discussed with the students and invited them to hold on to criticism, and the students’ questions were asked in French. Beijing has tried to show the close personal relationship between the two politicians. SCMP report says: „Xi’s rare outing with a foreign leader outside the capital, Beijing, took place at the Songyuan Hotel, a luxurious and traditional Chinese garden-style venue typically used by provincial leaders to receive high-ranking state and party leaders. In 2018, Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra held a Modi peaks at a lake in downtown Wuhan.”
At the meeting, some contracts were ostentatiously signed with the companies. Macron had brought a high-level delegation of directors with him, and he was well received in Beijing. These deals are important to Macron because he is under enormous pressure due to the social unrest in France. On the other hand, in the Ukraine war, China did not want Macron to push it in any direction. The Frenchman said earlier that he would try to convince Beijing to put more pressure on Moscow. But Xi made a very general call for restraint to all involved. Earlier, Xi von der Leyen said that the relations between the EU and China should not be dictated by „third parties”. In the context of escalating geopolitical conflict, the Chinese leitmotif has for some time been warning the entire world not to become too dependent on the United States. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also took the same line on Friday during a visit to Turkey. Lavrov said peace talks to resolve Ukraine’s war are only possible as part of a „new world order” without US „hegemony”.
In any case, the struggle for the current „world order” is accompanied by an increasing military clamor: after the meeting between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, China has three warships for the second day in a row, according to information from Taipei that Posted near Taiwan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Beijing that an invasion of Taiwan could lead to a global economic crisis.
