Although China's high-level visit to Europe has ended, the relevant discussions have not stopped, and the impact is gradually spreading. In this trip, the most interesting thing is undoubtedly the trilateral talks between China and French President Macron and the President of the European Commission.
Although France has given the Chinese side top reception standards, with a lot of red carpets, honor guards, and escort convoys, and sent young Prime Minister Atal to the airport to greet him personally, this does not mean that everything will go smoothly in the trilateral talks in Paris.
Long before the start of the talks, the French media had made it clear that the situation between Russia and Ukraine would be the focus of the talks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a post-meeting press conference at the Élysée Palace: "We expect China to use all its influence over Russia to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict as soon as possible. This kind of statement seems to be fine, but if you taste it carefully, you will find the problem, is it because of China that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has continued until now?
According to the BBC, French President Emmanuel Macron also stressed the serious impact of this conflict on European security and expressed France's firm position of supporting Ukraine if necessary.
He noted that China's position and actions in this conflict will be the focus of attention in Europe. Although China has never publicly supported Russia's military actions, countries such as Europe and the United States still accuse China's economic cooperation with Russia of actually giving Russia some degree of support.
According to data from China Customs, the trade volume between China and Russia reached a record $240.1 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 26.3%, of which Chinese exports to Russia increased by 46.9%, while imports from Russia increased by 13%.
In addition to this, Western countries have repeatedly criticized China for providing assistance to Russia's defense industry. However, in response to such "unfounded" accusations, the Chinese side made it clear that the Chinese government has no intention of providing Moscow with weapons of any kind, and said that it is ready to investigate the issue of China's export of dual-use goods to Russia mentioned by the West.
According to the BBC, China's commitment has alleviated some of Europe's concerns to some extent. Macron is also encouraged by China's statement, which he believes may be a positive signal to promote a peaceful settlement.
However, on the issue of Sino-EU trade frictions, China did not give the response that the EU or von der Leyen wanted. Von der Leyen bluntly pointed out during the talks that "the EU cannot afford to overproduce large quantities of Chinese industrial products flooding its markets," and said that such unequal market access and subsidies from the government are hurting EU-China relations.
In a press conference that followed, Macron reiterated the openness of the EU market, but also stressed the need to protect this market, noting that Europe needs to make some "difficult decisions" to prevent the market from being overwhelmed with excess products. Such rhetoric echoes the stance of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who warned last month that the US would not tolerate the "destruction" of its emerging industries by Chinese imports.
In the face of the dual pressure from Europe and the United States, the Chinese side emphasized that China's new energy industry represents advanced production capacity, which not only cultivates competitiveness in the global market, but also significantly alleviates global inflationary pressures, and makes a significant contribution to the fight against climate change and the global green transition.
The Chinese side has made it clear that from the perspective of global market demand or comparative advantage, there is no so-called "overcapacity problem" in China.
However, although the Chinese side refuted von der Leyen's accusation of China's "overcapacity" in person, the Chinese side still proposed that China and France should start from the top-level design and strive to find a path to trade rebalancing. Although the media did not disclose specific details, public opinion generally believed that China's statement meant that China would take a more flexible stance to deal with the trade friction between China and the EU.
Reuters, citing French diplomatic sources, said that China seemed to understand Europe's concerns about trade imbalances, and said that the main purpose of the visit was to send a message that China is willing to communicate and adjust.
However, after a meeting, the most anxious is Macron. On the one hand, he needs to protect the interests of French companies in China and maintain relations between China and France. On the other hand, he also needs to use the meeting to influence China to be more cautious about trade cooperation with Russia, and in addition to that, he will be busy acting as a lubricant between China and the European Union, which will be difficult for the president.