Macron's China visit marks "new path forward" in bilateral ties: former French PM

China

Macron's China visit marks "new path forward" in bilateral ties: former French PM

2025-12-06 15:33 Last Updated At：23:57

French President Emmanuel Macron's just-concluded state visit to China offers a significant opportunity for the two major powers to boost ties and redefine their vision for global governance, according to former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

Raffarin was speaking in an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) in southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday, where Macron wrapped up his three-day state visit to China with a series of cultural activities.

Macron had earlier held formal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, where the two heads of state witnessed the signing of multiple cooperation documents, met the press and attended and addressed the closing ceremony of the seventh meeting of China-France Business Council.

Raffarin said Macron's visit has gone a long way to promoting stronger bilateral trade ties and more investment between the two countries, noting both China and France play key roles in the international community.

"This meeting between President Xi and President Macron is very important. It marks a new path forward. To rebalance our trade relations, we have three objectives for this mission. First, [we want] to strengthen our trade partnership, Chinese investment in France, French investment in China, and greater cooperation with a view to rebalancing our trade relations. Secondly, in 2026, China will play a major role within APEC, just as France does within the G7. Dialog between Xi Jinping and Macron will therefore enable us to develop a vision for global governance, reforming multilateralism, and world peace. And then, of course, the third objective was to strengthen cultural cooperation, since culture is very important in Sino-French relations. Ultimately, culture is an expression of the sensibilities of our peoples. The Chinese and French peoples are two peoples who like each other because they are two sensitive peoples," he said.

During talks between the two leaders in Beijing on Thursday, President Xi said China and France should seize opportunities and consolidate cooperation in traditional fields such as aviation, aerospace and nuclear energy, while tapping into the potential for cooperation in areas including the green economy, digital economy, biopharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence and new energy.

Macron said France is willing to promote mutual investment with China, strengthen cooperation in trade, renewable energy, and other fields, and promote friendly cultural exchanges.

Raffarin believes this sends out a strong signal to the business community and said it will open up new opportunities for both French and Chinese entrepreneurs.

"We are facing major transformations. These transformations are naturally digital, climatic, and ecological. We are experiencing many changes, including artificial intelligence. In today's fast-moving world, France and China can collaborate. They can cooperate on innovation and technology, but also on regulations. To ensure that all this is done in a peaceful and orderly manner, I believe that cooperation will be strengthened and that entrepreneurs will be the winners. We need businesses to strengthen cooperation between the two countries," he said, noting how Macron brought along a large business delegation for his visit.

"At the China International Import Expo in early November, more than 100 French companies were present to see how to work in China with Chinese partners and invite Chinese partners to come and set up industry in Europe, participating in the reindustrialization of Europe. China has a place there," Raffarin added.

The visit was Macron's fourth state visit to China and was a reciprocal visit following President Xi's historic trip to France last year that marked the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations.

Chinese, US officials, business leaders meet in California to deepen mutual understanding

Officials and business leaders from both China and the United States gathered in Berkeley, California on Friday to discuss the future of trade and investment between China and the San Francisco Bay Area, with many hoping to overcome the recent strain brought by the Trump administration's tariffs.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade hosted a business breakfast exchange meeting on Friday morning, with the council's chairman Ren Hongbin sending out a clear message of the vast economic potential which is there to be tapped into.

"The Chinese economy is very much innovation driven. And the strategic emerging industries, such as new energy, new materials, low carbon, aerospace, bio-pharmacy and the low-altitude economy, will generate a trillion-yuan level or even larger markets. So, I think that will provide enormous opportunities and room for China and U.S. companies to cooperate," said Ren.

He further stressed the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing as an example of an event where San Francisco Bay Area companies like NVIDIA and Apple were active participants and direct beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Zhang Jianmin said that against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown, greater cooperation in the innovation sector is now more important than ever.

"The [San Francisco] Bay Area is home to many of the world's top tech companies and offers a sound innovation ecosystem. China has a super big market, rich application scenarios and a complete industrial supporting system. There exists tremendous potential for both sides to have more mutually beneficial cooperation by tapping into their complementary strengths," said Zhang.

Attendees did voice concerns over how the Trump administration's tariffs are impacting business.

With China accounting for nearly 30 percent of the Port of Oakland's total trade volume, the port's executive director Kristi McKenney stressed the need for greater stability and certainty.

"The tariffs in many cases were never actually implemented or were changed before they were implemented. So those linkages are a bit more challenging. I think the bigger issue will be certainty in the economy. And if there's lack of certainty, if we see economic difficulty, then you're going to see job losses," said McKenney.

Oakland's Mayor Barbara Lee said that it is very much business as usual, despite the recent difficulties.

"While we understand the challenges of tariffs, the exports and imports are still continuing, and our port is still a large containerized port doing business with China. And we're going to strengthen that relationship. We may have our differences on issues, on policies, but we here in Oakland understand that we're a global city and we believe the trade brings friendships, brings understanding, and also brings economic benefits to both countries," she said.