France expects China to send a clear message to Russia about Ukraine. This was reiterated by its Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, during a trip to Beijing that revealed economic and geopolitical stances can be managed with prudence. Beijing and Paris are separated by European protectionism, according to Paris, or by a simple aim to reduce trade dependence, according to Beijing. Yet beyond these differences lies a Chinese respect for a country with pride and a voice of its own.
Séjourné reminded his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that Beijing plays a key role in upholding international law and he expects a strong, unequivocal message to Moscow. We are convinced that lasting peace cannot be achieved unless it is negotiated with the Ukrainians, and there will be no security in Europe without a peace aligned with international law, he continued.
French President Emmanuel Macron has floated the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine and pressed China to bring Russia to the negotiating table. China and France share concern about the war, but they differ on the path to ending it. Paris seeks a solution in line with the United Nations Charter, backs Ukrainian claims, and dismissed China’s twelve-point plan as vague and tilted toward Russia.
European Autonomy
The second visit to Beijing in six months by the foreign minister confirms the vitality of the bilateral relationship. Wang thanked Macron in Paris a few months earlier for France’s international independence. Beijing had already highlighted the president’s trip in April, described by the press as the first by a European head of state after the zero COVID policy, with pomp around the visit.
It was a visible omission of the recent visit by Spanish President Pedro Sánchez. A high Brussels official noted at the time that China rewarded Macron with a three‑day visit, media fanfare, and meetings with Xi Jinping, while Sánchez’s stopover was brief and quickly wrapped up by the host. Beijing applauds France’s defense of a multipolar world and a more autonomous European stance. Macron described it as an alternative path, resisting Washington’s hard line and the concerns voiced by Brussels such as those from Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission. Europe must not follow the United States blindly in its stance toward Beijing.
Trade Friction
These affinities coexist with trade frictions. Séjourné confirmed that the policy of derisking will continue, a way to reduce dependence on China in certain sectors. It emerged as a softer alternative to the decoupling urged by hawkish Atlantic voices. Both sides view China as pushing a policy perceived as unfairly protectionist against European companies.
The European Commission launched a year ago an investigation to determine whether Chinese electric vehicles benefited from state subsidies. Paris led the charge, and Beijing responded with a counter‑investigation into European cognacs, an industry long dominated by France. Today both sides downplay the impact of that trade clash. Séjourné stressed the goal is a rebalanced economy that will make trade healthier and more sustainable. Wang urged policy makers to avoid targeting any single country or violating World Trade Organization rules and concluded by promising more high‑quality French goods and services will be imported.