Against headwinds, Xi-Macron meeting injects impetus to bilateral ties

Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.

In their meeting at the Elysée Palace in Paris on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to consolidate the strategic stability of bilateral relations, explore the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation, accelerate people-to-people exchanges and build greater consensus on global cooperation.

As China and France are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relationship this year, Xi-Macron consensuses will inject new momentum to bilateral ties that are at the critical juncture of building on the past and looking to the future.

As Xi emphasized in France, the two countries have no geopolitical conflicts or clashes of fundamental interests. This means there is no reason for failure in bringing out the best in Beijing-Paris relations. During Xi's visit, the two sides clinched nearly 20 bilateral cooperation documents on green development, aviation, agri-food, commerce, and people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries are demonstrating their will to expand their business relations in both breadth and depth. During their meeting, Xi pledged to promote the "French farm to Chinese dining table" mechanism, bringing more cheese, ham, wine and other quality agricultural products from France to the dining tables of Chinese families.

At present, France is China's largest source of agricultural imports from the EU. In 2023, China imported 46.95 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) worth of agricultural products from France, up by 50.5 percent from 2019. In the past few years, France has secured its position as the top supplier of wine and spirits to the Chinese market, with its wine accounting for roughly 30 percent of China's wine imports.

"China is a very big market, so consumption plays a big role for the economy," Jerome Cottin-Bizonne, managing director of French wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard's China division, was quoted by the Global Times as saying. He added that Chinese consumers' appetite for more diversified offers is a great opportunity for French companies.

In this era of global connectivity, China-France cooperation is an important choice not only for the prosperity of the two countries, but also the wellbeing of the rest of the world. As Xi noted that the world is far from being tranquil, China and France – located at the east and west ends of the Eurasian continent – play a vital role in addressing global challenges and opposing any logic of bloc confrontation.

Beijing-Paris enhanced dialogues in AI governance, climate change, biodiversity and other issues are welcomed by the international community. Their cooperation in the new energy sector, for instance, not only increases global supply and alleviates the pressure of global inflation, but also contributes to the global fight against climate change.

As two major forces in building a multipolar world, China and France also play an essential role in maintaining global peace and stability. In their joint statement released on Tuesday, Xi and Macron called for concrete implementation of a two-state solution and condemned all violations of international humanitarian law in the Middle East. The two heads of state also reaffirmed their commitment to promoting a political settlement of the Iran nuclear issue.

China-France cooperation is good news for all. But interestingly, some Westerners deliberately hype up China's "unfair" trade practices and "dumping" low-cost products into the global market – all in an attempt to dampen Beijing-Paris cooperation. "Overcapacity" is an also often-reported word in Western coverage about Xi's European visit. This is typical Cold-War mentality. China's new energy industry, as Xi noted, has made progress in open competition and there is no such thing as "China overcapacity."

Admittedly, China and European countries have different political systems. But their cooperation should not be kidnapped by ideology. As two important players in the global arena, China and France should jointly oppose attempts to turn normal cooperation into political, ideological or security issues.

In their meeting, the two leaders agreed that the China-France relationship has a precious history, unique values and an important mission. The two sides have demonstrated their will to enrich the spirit that guided the establishment of diplomatic ties. At this critical juncture where the world is witnessing multi-faceted challenges, multi-win cooperation is an essential choice.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)