Xi Jinping arrives in France with Ukraine and an EU trade row at the top of his agenda | China

President Xi Jinping praised China’s ties with France as a model for the international community as he arrived in Paris for a rare visit amid growing trade disputes with the EU.

French President Emmanuel Macron is ready to urge Xi to reduce trade imbalances and use his influence with Russia over the war in Ukraine. Xi is due to meet with Macron and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Monday.

Xi, who was welcomed in Paris by Prime Minister Gabriel Atal, said in a statement released upon his arrival that ties between China and France were “a model for the international community of peaceful coexistence and profitable cooperation between countries with different social systems”.

IN separate ed published in the French daily Le Figaro, the Chinese president said he was coming to France with three messages: that Beijing was committed to opening “new perspectives” in its relations with France; opening “wider and wider” to the world and maintaining world peace and stability.

“As it opens, China also encourages Chinese companies to go global,” Xi wrote. “France advances reindustrialization based on green innovation, while China accelerates development of new quality manufacturing forces.”

The war in Ukraine he wrote that China “understands the implications of the Ukrainian crisis on the people of Europe.” He stressed that Beijing is not “a country or a participant in it,” adding that “China is playing a constructive role in seeking a peaceful resolution to the crisis.”

Xi’s visit to Europe is the first since 2019 and will also see him visit Serbia and Hungary.

One of Macron’s main priorities will be to warns Xi of the danger of supporting Russia in its invasion of Ukrainewith Western officials concerned, Moscow is now using Chinese machinery to make weapons.

Above all, the West wants China not to supply weapons to Russia and risk tipping the balance in the conflict.

“It is in our interest to make China influence the stability of the international order,” Macron said in an interview with the Economist published on Thursday.

“Therefore, we must work with China to build peace,” he added.

France is also backing a European Union investigation into Chinese exports of electric vehicles, and in January Beijing launched an investigation into mostly French brandy imports, a move seen as retaliation for the EU probes.

“We want to achieve reciprocity of exchange and take into account the elements of our economic security,” Macron said in an interview with French newspaper La Tribune ahead of Xi’s two-day visit, his first visit to the region in five years.

Von der Leyen said on Monday he would push for “fair” competition with China in talks with Xi.

“We must act to ensure that competition is fair and not distorted,” she said, adding: “I have made it clear that the current imbalances in market access are not sustainable and must be addressed.”

The European Commission, the European Union’s trade body, has opened multiple studies to competition targeting China in recent months.

Beijing has reacted furiously to the latest investigation into alleged unfair access to China’s medical device market, calling it a sign of EU “protectionism”.

The 27 EU members – France and Germany in particular – are divided over their attitude towards China.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will not join Macron and Xi in Paris due to prior commitments, sources said.

“In Europe, we are not unanimous on the subject because some players still see China as essentially a market of opportunity,” Macron said, without naming countries.

France will also seek to make progress in opening the Chinese market for its agricultural exports and resolve issues surrounding the French cosmetics industry’s concerns over intellectual property rights, officials said.

China may announce an order for about 50 Airbus jets during Xi’s visit, but it remains uncertain whether it will be a new deal, people familiar with the talks said.

On Tuesday, Macron will take Xi to the Pyrenees, a mountainous region dear to the French president as the birthplace of his maternal grandmother, before Xi heads to Serbia and Hungary.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report