Ukraine, cognac, Olympic truce… What to remember from the press conference of Emmanuel Macron and Xi Jinping

War, Olympic Games or selling cognac. This Monday, Emmanuel Macron discussed extremely diverse topics during a press conference held at the Elysee Palace on the occasion of the first day of the visit to France of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The purpose of this visit is to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Don’t “smear” China on the Ukrainian issue

During his speech on Monday, Emmanuel Macron mentioned the war in Ukraine while welcoming China’s “commitment” to “refrain from any arms sales to Russia.” He also reaffirmed his respect for “the ancient ties that unite China and Russia, and the efforts made over decades to stabilize those relations.” “Without the security of Ukraine there can be no security in Europe,” the French president insisted.

For his part, the Chinese president called on Paris not to “dirty” his country in the Ukrainian issue, and Beijing plays, in his words, a “positive role” in finding a peaceful solution to the war. “We are against using the Ukrainian crisis to shift blame, smear a third country and provoke a new cold war,” Xi Jinping said, citing Western criticism.

Global “Olympic Truce”?

Months before the competition, in a war-torn international context, Emmanuel Macron once again called for a global “Olympic truce” during the 2024 Games in Paris.

The French president hailed his Chinese counterpart’s “will” to “reach out to all parties concerned” in various conflicts for an “Olympic Truce” during the Paris Games this summer.

No tax on cognac

On a completely different topic, Emmanuel Macron thanked his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for not imposing “preliminary” customs duties on French cognac after he offered him bottles of it during his state visit to France.

French cognac has become the subject of an anti-dumping investigation launched by the Chinese authorities. China has made it clear that there will be no immediate customs duties as a precautionary measure pending the results of the investigation, a French diplomatic source said.

The first day of Xi Jinping’s visit to France ends with a state dinner at the Elysee Palace. This Tuesday the two presidents will travel to the Hautes-Pyrenees for a less formal exchange of views.