TRADE TALKS
Macron is also due to discuss trade with his Chinese hosts, with the European Union facing a massive trade deficit of US$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 has previously called for the European Union to reduce its dependence on China and for a “European preference” in the tech sector.
Last month, he told a European summit of tech leaders and ministers from across the continent that the bloc does not want to be a “vassal” to US and Chinese tech companies.
The French president 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 to their ancestral home to retire at an animal sanctuary in the city.
The Chinese embassy 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.
Source: CNA
