EditMacron meets Xi as EU prepares tougher trade rules
Thursday's talks may set the tone for whether the EU can recalibrate its dragon dance - cooperating where possible, competing where necessary
French President Emmanuel Macron met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, seeking stronger commercial ties, as the European Union prepares to toughen up its trade rules amid a deepening rift in EU-China relations that has seen Brussels label Beijing as a “systemic rival” while grappling with a ballooning trade deficit and geopolitical flashpoints.
A large business delegation is accompanying Macron on his fourth state visit to the world’s second-largest economy, underscoring France’s heavy reliance on China as its seventh-largest trading partner.
The trip, framed by Paris as a chance to “rebalance” bilateral ties and establish a framework for EU-China relations based on mutual respect rather than external tensions like those between China and the U.S. or Russia, comes at a delicate moment for Europe.
Ahead of the visit, Macron’s advisers emphasised pushing for greater European access to Chinese technology and markets, while urging Beijing to boost domestic consumption to address the EU’s €306.2 billion trade deficit with China in 2024 – a gap driven by surging Chinese exports in steel, electric vehicles (EVs) and low-cost consumer goods that threaten European industries.
Macron will travel to Chengdu in southwestern Sichuan province on Friday, accompanied by Xi—a rare honour, as the Chinese president seldom joins visiting leaders outside the capital. Yet expectations for breakthroughs remain tempered: Xi is not expected to sign off on a long-awaited Airbus order for up to 500 jets or offer Paris relief from duties on EU brandy imports, 99% of which come from France.
Beijing wants to ease trade frictions with Brussels over its heavily subsidised electric vehicle sector, which prompted the EU to impose provisional tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese EVs in July 2025, only for China to retaliate with levies on European dairy, pork and brandy.
Committing to the Airbus deal, analysts say, would weaken China’s leverage not just over the U.S. – which is pushing a rival Boeing order – but also over Europe as it readies new economic security policies, including stricter screening of foreign investments and export controls on dual-use technologies.
Macron in the past has sought to project a robust European front in dealing with China, while being careful not to antagonise Beijing, with China a key export market for many of France’s most prominent companies. Top executives from Airbus, France’s largest bank BNP Paribas, electrical giant Schneider and train maker Alstom, along with leaders of the French dairy and poultry industry groups, have joined Macron, who will sign a series of agreements with Xi after their meeting.
China is France’s seventh-largest trading partner, buying around $35 billion in goods each year, according to Chinese customs data. About 10% of those products are cosmetics, with aircraft parts and alcoholic spirits among other key exports. For its part, France takes some $45 billion worth of Chinese products, mostly low-value parcels through online platforms like Shein of cheap clothes, accessories and gadgets direct from Chinese factories, thanks to an EU customs waiver on purchases below 150 euros.
A tightrope walk: EU-China ties at an ‘inflection point’
The Macron-Xi summit highlights the EU’s precarious balancing act with China, once hailed as a “comprehensive strategic partner” but now viewed through the prism of economic competition and security risks. Since the early 2010s, when China overtook the U.S. as the EU’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade topping €800 billion annually, relations have soured under the weight of imbalances: Europe’s chronic deficit, Beijing’s state subsidies distorting markets, and forced technology transfers that have prompted probes into sectors from solar panels to semiconductors.
Geopolitics has further strained the partnership. The EU’s 2019 strategic outlook classified China as a “partner, competitor and rival,” a label that gained urgency with Beijing’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine – dual-use exports to Moscow surged 60% in 2024 despite EU sanctions – and its aggressive stance on Taiwan, where Xi reiterated “reunification” goals in 2025 speeches.
Macron, fresh from hosting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris last week, is expected to press Xi to curb aid to Russia and back a ceasefire, aligning with Brussels’ calls for China to act as a “responsible stakeholder” in global peace efforts. Yet, as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned during her tense July 2025 Beijing visit – describing ties at an “inflection point” – the bloc is hardening its line: new rules slated for unveiling this month will bolster supply-chain resilience against Chinese dominance in critical minerals (where Beijing controls 80% of rare earth processing) and limit tech dependencies.
Analysts note that success could stabilise flows for French exporters – aircraft parts alone account for €10 billion in annual sales – while failure risks escalating tit-for-tat tariffs that could shave 0.5% off EU GDP, per Bruegel estimates. As Macron told Xi during their meeting, “Sometimes there are differences, but it is our responsibility to overcome them for the greater good.”
With Reuters, edited by g.g.
Caption: France’s President Emmanuel Macron (Front L) and China’s President Xi Jinping (Front R) walk as China’s First Lady Peng Liyuan (back R) ushers France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron (back) during a state visit at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 04 December 2025. EPA/ADEK BERRY / POOL
Updated: December 4, 2025 - 07:24
