Sawt Falasteen - France's Macron visits China with Ukraine on the agenda

Macron, on fourth state visit to China since taking office in 2017, will meet Xi and Premier Li Qiang at the capital's Great Hall of the People before heading to Chengdu, where two giant pandas loaned to France have recently been returned.

Efforts to bring an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine are expected to be on the agenda.

"We are counting on China, like us a permanent member of the Security Council... to lean on Russia, so that Russia and, in particular, Vladimir Putin can finally agree to a ceasefire," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Monday.

"China can play a crucial role in guiding Vladimir Putin's Russia to make the right decision," Barrot told French radio.

Macron made similar appeals during his last trip to China in April 2023, as well as during Xi's visit to France in May 2024, without much success.

China regularly calls for peace talks and respect for the territorial integrity of all countries, but has never condemned Russia for its 2022 invasion.

Western governments accuse Beijing of providing Russia with crucial economic support for its war effort, notably by supplying it with military components for its defence industry.

The French presidency said Macron will tell Xi that China must "refrain from providing any means, by any means, to Russia to continue the war".

Macron's three-day visit follows a trip to Paris this week by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who urged Europe to stand by Kyiv as US President Donald Trump pushes a plan to end the war.

European countries fear the proposal championed by Trump risks forcing Kyiv to cave in to Russian demands, notably on territory.

"We share the view that the war must be brought to a fair end," Zelensky wrote on X after Monday's talks with Macron, which also included phone conversations with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other European leaders.

- 'Exceptional' -

Macron is also due to discuss trade with his Chinese hosts, with the European Union facing a massive trade deficit of $357 billion with the Asian powerhouse.

"It is necessary for China to consume more and export less... and for Europeans to save less and produce more," an adviser to Macron said.

Macron, who is accompanied by his wife Brigitte, will stay in China until Friday, with a final stop in Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

Last week, two giant pandas loaned to France by China were flown back to their ancestral home to retire at an animal sanctuary in the city.

Before they departed, a Chinese embassy official promised new bears would soon be dispatched to make up for the popular pair leaving.

The Chengdu visit is "quite exceptional in Chinese protocol", the French presidency said, adding it was "appreciated as such" by Macron.

During his last trip to China, the French president was given a rock star welcome at a university in the southern city of Guangzhou, with students chanting his name and scrambling for selfies and high-fives.

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W.Mansour--SF-PST