REGION China's Xi lands in Serbia after French trade talks
Xi Jinping arrived in Belgrade on Tuesday evening, after French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a high altitude lunch at a childhood haunt in the Pyrenees mountains for the Chinese leader.
On the next step in his European tour, Xi will hold talks with President Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia, where China has invested heavily to expand its economic footprint.
Serbian state broadcaster RTS showed Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan descend from their Air China aeroplane to be greeted by Vucic, with a small crowd of welcomers waiting along a red carpet dressed in traditional clothing and holding flags and flowers.
In France, Macron pressed a message to Beijing not to support Russia's conflict against Ukraine and to accept fairer trade.
But the other two countries chosen by Xi for his first trip to Europe since 2019 – Hungary is his final stop after Serbia – are seen as among the most sympathetic to Moscow in Europe.
The first day of Xi's state visit to France saw respectful but sometimes robust exchanges between the two presidents during a succession of talks on Monday.
Macron, joined initially by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its military operation in Ukraine and asked Beijing to do all it could to end the war.
Xi, for his part, warned the West not to "smear" China over the conflict and also hit back at accusations that Chinese overcapacity was causing global trade imbalances.
Macron welcomed Xi to a mountain restaurant outside the village of Bagnere-de-bigorre to explore these issues in relative privacy, and to enjoy local delicacies.
While born and brought up in the north of France, the young "Manu" spent numerous winter and summer holidays with his late maternal grandparents in the area just below the Col du Tourmalet, over 2,000 metres (6,560 feet) above sea level and a legendary climb in the Tour
de France cycling race.
The inclement weather – with
snonw dand flurries of mist blocking the spectacular views – left the leaders and their wives, Brigitte Macron and Peng, firmly entrenched under umbrellas as they watched local dances.
But they were also all smiles as they enjoyed local wine in the cosy chalet-style restaurant, with Macron offering gifts including berets and a Tour de France yellow jersey.
Both Macron and von der Leyen made trade a priority in the talks in Paris – underscoring that Europe must defend its "strategic interests" in its economic relations with China amid fears of a trade war.
Von der Leyen said there were "imbalances that remain significant" and "a matter of great concern", singling out Chinese subsidies for electric cars and steel that were "flooding the European market".
Macron, joined initially by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, urged Xi not to allow the export of any technology that could be used by Russia in its military operation in Ukraine and asked Beijing to do all it could to end the war.