Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife arrived in Paris, France, the first stop on a three-country tour of Europe, on May 5, 2024.
According to a VNA reporter in Beijing, trade, investment and issues related to the conflict in Ukraine are said to be the main topics of discussion during the Chinese leader's visit.
This is Xi Jinping's second state visit to France in five years, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. As planned, in Paris on May 6, the Chinese President and host country President Emmanuel Macron will hold talks with President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen.
In recent years, China and France have actively carried out cooperation in the economic and trade fields. France has now become China's third largest trading partner in the European Union (EU) and plays a leading role in China-EU economic and trade cooperation. In turn, China is France's fourth largest trading partner in the world, after Germany, Belgium and Italy.
Regarding investment, according to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, by the end of 2023, France's total direct investment in China reached 21.64 billion USD, second only to Germany and the Netherlands among EU member states. Currently, France's investment in China mainly focuses on areas such as electric vehicles, cosmetics, agricultural products, hydrogen energy, aerospace, etc. Meanwhile, China's direct investment in France is 4.84 billion USD; the main investment areas include manufacturing, information technology, transportation, banking, hotels, tourism, etc.
The Chinese side sees this visit as an opportunity to promote bilateral relations with France to a new level, creating new momentum for China-EU relations.
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