Macron in Beijing for talks on trade, Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for his first visit to China since 2019. Macron is accompanied on the visit by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is making her first trip to China as the bloc's head. The pair will meet President Xi Jinping for talks on issues including the Ukraine conflict and trade ties between China and Europe. Macron's office said he had a phone call ahead of his visit to Beijing with US President Joe Biden, in which they agreed to engage China on accelerating the end of the war in Ukraine and building sustainable peace in the region. The Elysee said Macron and Biden both hoped China could contribute to solidarity efforts between the global north and global south and build a joint agenda for  climate and biodiversity. It did not elaborate. The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji would also meet Macron. For Macron, facing embarrassing protests over pension reforms at home, the trip also offers a chance to land some economic wins as he travels with a 50-strong business delegation, including Airbus, which is negotiating a big plane order, Alstom and nuclear giant EDF. Macron's trip will conclude on Friday with a visit to Guangzhou, where he will meet local students. He'll be accompanied by a broad delegation of top politicians, business leaders and even celebrities, including composer Jean-Michel Jarre. Macron will attend a dinner and tea ceremony in Guangzhou with Xi, whose father, Xi Zhongxun, worked there as provincial first secretary. "We believe that this has very large symbolic significance and suggests that (France) is ready to relaunch cooperation with China," said Henry Huiyao Wang, president of the Centre for China and Globalisation, a Beijing-based think tank. (Agencies)