Horses for courses: Macron bets on animal diplomacy in China
French president Emmanuel Macron is betting on equine diplomacy on his first state visit to China, presenting Chinese leader Xi Jinping with a horse as a gift.
The animal, a retired Republican Guard horse named Vesuve de Brekka, is in quarantine. But Mr Macron was to show a photo of it to Mr Xi when they met last night in Beijing.
The French presidential office said Mr Xi had been “fascinated” by the horses’ skills when he was escorted by the guard during his visit to Paris in 2014.
The eight-year-old dark brown horse took part in its last presidential escort on November 11 on the Champs-Elysees. The horses are ridden by sword-wielding guards on ceremonial occasions.
Mr Macron will also offer Mr Xi a sabre engraved with the words “Emmanuel Macron, president of the French Republic, Beijing, January 2018”.
The gift is Mr Macron’s answer to China’s panda diplomacy. And the French leader’s name in Mandarin is rendered “Ma-ke-long” – “the horse vanquishes the dragon”.
The horse arrived in China on a special plane accompanied by the Republican Guard’s chief veterinarian and a member of the unit on January 4, four days before the president.
Mr Macron’s state visit began at the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, a nod to the Chinese leader’s scheme to revive the ancient trade route.
With his wife Brigitte, the French president visited the terracotta warriors in the northern city of Xian, and the city’s mosque.
The 8,000-man clay army, crafted about 250BC for the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shihuang, is a symbol of ancient artistic and military sophistication in a country that proclaims itself a 5,000-year-old civilisation.
Mr Macron is beginning the
three-day visit in Xian as a gesture to Mr Xi’s huge New Silk Road project, an ambitious initiative to connect Asia and Europe by road, rail and sea.
The US$1 trillion infrastructure programme is billed as a modern revival of the ancient trade route that once carried fabrics, spices and a wealth of other goods in both directions.
Known in China as One Belt, One Road, the plan is to build new road and rail networks through Central Asia and beyond, and new maritime routes stretching through the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
The project has elicited interest and anxiety, with some in the US and Europe regarding it as Chinese expansionism.
While France had been cautious on the subject, Mr Macron heartily endorsed the initiative in an interview with China.org.cn posted yesterday.
“It represents a real opportunity to create bridges, through exchange, between countries and civilisations, just as the ancient silk routes once did,” he said.
“It’s very important that Europe and China strengthen their collaboration on the initiative. France is ready to play a leading role in this.”
But he warned that it should be carried out “within the framework of a balanced partnership”, in a reference to concerns about China’s trade surpluses. France has a €30 billion (Dh132bn) trade deficit with China.
Mr Macron will deliver a keynote speech later in Xian on the future of Franco-Chinese relations.
His first official visit to Asia marks a new stage for his diplomacy, which has so far concentrated on Europe and Africa.
Mr Macron plans to seek a “strategic partnership” with Beijing on issues including terrorism and climate change, and make Mr Xi an ally in implementing the Paris Accord to fight climate change after the US pulled out of the deal.
After Xian, Mr Macron will travel to Beijing with his delegation, which includes about 60 business executives and institutions.
He and his wife were to meet Mr Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, last night. Today he will visit the Forbidden City, meet top Chinese officials and oversee the signing of business deals.
Human Rights Watch has urged Mr Macron to publicly call for improvements in China during his meeting with Mr Xi, but the French president’s office said the matter would be addressed privately.