rench President Emmanuel Macron paid a state visit to China from December 3 to 5, 2025 on the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, further reinforcing ties between China and France.
This was Macron’s fourth visit to China during his presidency, and comes after Xi made a State visit to France in May 2024.
During their talks in Beijing, Xi, according to China’s foreign ministry, underscored that no matter how the external environment may evolve, China and France should always demonstrate the strategic vision and independence of a major country, offer each other understanding and support on issues concerning core interests and major concerns, and safeguard the political foundation of China-France relations. He added that China and France should strengthen cooperation in traditional areas such as aviation, aerospace and nuclear energy, and unlock the cooperation potential in the green economy, digital economy, biomedicine, AI, new energy and other fields.
“China is ready to import more quality products from France, and welcomes more French companies to operate in China. China also hopes France will provide a level playing field and stable expectations for Chinese enterprises... The two countries should deepen exchanges and cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, as well as at subnational levels, and write more exciting chapters of people-to-people and cultural exchanges,” Xi told Macron.
Macron responded that he fully agrees with Xi’s views on reforming and improving global governance and promoting a more balanced global economy. He noted that France firmly upholds the one-China principle and is willing to continue deepening the France-China comprehensive strategic partnership. He said that France is ready to work with China to promote mutual investment, strengthen cooperation in such areas as economy, trade and renewable energy, and deepen friendly cultural exchanges.
Macron expressed France’s commitment to promoting the sound and steady development of EuropeChina relations, saying that France believes Europe and China should uphold dialogue and cooperation, and that Europe should achieve strategic autonomy.
At a later joint press conference, Xi noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China will drive high-quality development through deepening reforms comprehensively, further expand domestic demand and open up more sectors, and meanwhile, guide the rational and orderly overseas distribution of industrial and supply chains.
“These will create even broader space for practical cooperation between China and France and for the development of bilateral relations,” Xi said.
Before flying home, Macron traveled to Chengdu, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, delivering a speech at Sichuan University that emphasized the importance of cooperation and mutual understanding in tackling contemporary challenges. Xi and Macron also met at Dujiangyan Irrigation System, built over 2,000 years ago and still functioning today. Macron played a friendly table tennis match with Chinese and French athletes participating in the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup held in Chengdu.
During Macron’s three-day trip, the two heads of state released joint statements on enhancing global governance, cooperation on addressing global climate and environmental challenges, continued cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, exchanges and cooperation on agriculture and food, as well as the situation in Ukraine and Palestine, with multiple cooperation documents signed, covering nuclear energy, agri-food, education and the environment, among others.
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