Macron calls for Europe-China alliance on climate, Silk Road
XIAN, China: French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe on Road revival plan, despite some European misgivings about the massive project, as he began a state visit.
Macron also called on Europe and - mate change, in the face of US plans to withdraw from the Paris accord.
said in a keynote speech on the future of Sino- French relations during a visit to the northern city of Xian, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road.
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Macron began his three-day visit President Xi Jinping’s huge New Silk Road project, an initiative to connect Asia and Europe by road, rail and sea.
The $1 trillion infrastructure program is billed as a modern revival of the ancient Silk Road that once carried fabrics, spices and a wealth of other goods in both directions.
gleaming new road and rail net and beyond, and new maritime routes stretching through the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
The project has elicited both interest and anxiety, with some expansionism.
While France had been cautious about the plan, Macron heartily endorsed the initiative.
- nity to create bridges, through exchange, between countries and civilizations, just as the ancient
collaboration on the initiative. France is ready to play a leading
But Macron warned that it should - trade surpluses. France has a 30-bil
Climate battle
marks a new stage for his diplomacy, which has so far been concentrated on Europe and Africa.
including terrorism.
In a French version of panda diplomacy, Macron will give Xi a horse as a gift: a retired Republican Guard horse that is currently in quarantine.
On climate change, Macron said - an increase in their engagements to 24 talks in Poland later this year.
top polluter, for committing to the Paris accord after US President - ica would pull out of the pact.
- pable of making our planet great and
After Xian, Macron will head to Bei- jing along with his delegation which includes some 60 business executives and representatives of institutions.
Macron and his wife Brigitte will meet Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan on Monday night. On Tuesday he the signing of business deals.
Human Rights Watch has urged Macron to call publicly for human - ing his meeting with Xi, but the matter would be addressed privately.
Along with Brigitte, Macron visited the famous terracotta warriors in Xian, as well as a centuries-old Big Wild Goose Pagoda—a Buddhist site—and the city’s mosque.
The 8,000-man clay army, craft Shihuang, is a symbol of ancient artistic and military sophistication in a country that proclaims itself a 5,000-year-old civilization.
rench President Emmanuel Macron (center) and his wife Brigitte Macron (center-left) listen to a priest during a visit at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the northern Chinese city of Xian on Monday.