French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visited China and held talks with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and other Chinese leaders. President Macron was accompanied by 53 French business leaders, including the CEOs of Alstom, EDF, Airbus, Suez and Veolia. Several contracts were signed in the fields of transport, energy, agriculture, culture and science. Xi said the two sides have had in-depth and high quality exchanges in Beijing and Guangzhou, increased understanding and mutual trust, and clarified the direction for future cooperation between China and France at the bilateral and international levels. The visit by Macron and von der Leyen sent a signal that despite increased competition and differences, cooperation is still the priority, Wang Shuo, Professor at the School of International Relations of the Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times. Macron also called for deeper “academic links” with China in an appeal at Sun Yat-sen University to more than 1,000 students from the nuclear engineering, foreign language and other departments. By working together on science and knowledge “friendship can be nourished”, he said. The two countries recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of their nuclear energy cooperation, which includes building the landmark Daya Bay nuclear power plant in Guangdong. The trade volume between France and China increased by over 14% and exceeded €100 billion for the first time in 2022. France was China’s third-largest trading partner in the European Union last year, following Germany and the Netherlands, and Guangdong accounts for about a fifth of China’s total trade with France.
Philippe Le Corre, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, noted the contrast between von der Leyen pressing hard on China’s trade practices, while Macron emphasized the importance of trade ties.
Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye called on France to open its market further to Chinese companies, “Expanding two-way investment is an important direction for France and China. The total value of Chinese investment in France is far smaller than the total value of French investment in China. The imbalance is prominent,” he said in an interview with Nouvelles d’Europe, a Chinese-language newspaper based in Paris. Data from China’s Commerce Ministry showed that the total value of Chinese investments in France (USD5.11 billion) was about one-quarter that of French investments in China (USD20.08 billion) during the first three quarters of 2022. “Chinese companies hope to expand investment in France and contribute to France’s economic recovery and job creation. We hope France will also overcome third-party interference and actively provide Chinese companies with an open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment, especially in telecommunications and hi-tech fields,” Ambassador Lu added. He also encouraged French small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to start businesses in China, adding that Beijing would strengthen intellectual property protections and provide them with a fair and just business environment.
In addition to passenger vehicles and aircraft, water treatment, chemical and pharmaceutical products, France’s exports to China also include fashion, energy infrastructure and agricultural products. China exports mainly construction machinery, manufacturing equipment, steel, electronics, textiles, garments and household appliances. Zhao Ping, Vice Dean of the Academy of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said China’s ongoing consumption and industrial upgrading have attracted more French investment in many areas like high-end manufacturing and green development in recent years.
Airbus announced it signed a 160 commercial aircraft purchase agreement with the China Aviation Supplies Holding Co, for 150 A320 aircraft and 10 A350-900 wide-body aircraft. Airbus will also open a second assembly line in Tianjin to double its output, further expanding its presence in one of the largest aviation markets in the world. Setting up the second assembly line in Tianjin means that 20% of Airbus' single-aisle aircraft worldwide will be assembled in Tianjin. Upon completion at the end of 2025, there will be 10 assembly lines in the world, which will better help production reach 75 aircraft per month in 2026, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said. Airbus has produced 600 single-aisle aircraft and about 30% of Airbus aircraft flying in China were manufactured in China. When Airbus proposed the idea of building the first assembly line in Tianjin in 2005, the market share of Airbus in China was less than 20%, but the ratio increased to 50% within 10 years. The cooperation agreement also aims at optimizing the Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) supply chain by diversifying the sources and enhancing SAF production toward the goal of using 10% SAF by 2030, Airbus said. China has become the biggest single country market of Airbus around the world. As of the end of February 2023, the Airbus fleet in China reached 2,127 aircraft, for a 54% market share.
Other agreements include opening up China’s pork sector to French pig farmers. Another will see Alstom supply an electric traction system for the Chengdu metro. Energy firm EDF concluded nuclear power and wind agreements, while French shipping firm CMA CGM sealed a biofuels deal with two state-owned Chinese conglomerates. At China's invitation, France will be a guest of honor country at the 2024 China International Fair for Trade in Services and the seventh China International Import Expo (CIIE).
This overview is based on reports by the China Daily, Global Times and South China Morning Post.
