大象传媒

France's President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen are set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior officials for face-to-face talks in Beijing.

China is a vocal ally of Russia, and Beijing has remained steadfastly neutral with regards to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Macron and von der Leyen are being accompanied on the trip by a number of European business leaders, implying the conversation will centre largely on strengthening economic ties, with discussion over the war in Ukraine taking a backseat.

We spoke on the programme to Professor Daniela Schwarzer, Executive director of Open Society Foundation in Europe and Central Asia. She said: "China is slowly opening up having been closed down during Covid, and it's very important for political leaders along with their business delegations... to travel to China and rebuild ties."

(Photo shows: France's President Emmanuel Macron, greets Zhao Leji, the head of the National People's Congress, at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China, Thursday, April 6, 2023. Credit: Reuters)

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