During December, Macron arrived in Beijing with a luxury delegation of over 80 people, and immediately signed 12 cooperation agreements with China. It was expected to be a major success, but there were clear differences between China and France on 16 points.

Macron and his wife arrived in Beijing

Recently, French President Macron is visiting China, which has received unprecedented attention. Notably, Macron brought a luxurious team of over 80 people to China, and China did not intend for Macron to return empty-handed. Media soon reported that China and France had signed 12 cooperation agreements.

These 12 agreements are not "face-saving projects," but real interests binding, covering areas such as aging population, bilateral investment, nuclear energy, and panda protection. However, the seemingly harmonious Sino-French relationship faces a bigger test. Scholars believe that Macron's visit is destined to end in failure.

From the interaction between China and France, the achievements of Macron's visit mainly focus on the trade field, but deeper, more strategic differences between China, France, and Europe remain like icebergs under the sea, solid and difficult to melt. Some scholars believe that there are significant differences between China and France on 16 topics including the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Taiwan issue, NATO expansion, and the Indo-Pacific strategy.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi welcomed at the airport

Moreover, these differences cannot be resolved through this exchange, and both sides' long-term positions have not changed fundamentally. In fact, this is expected. In the context of economic globalization facing setbacks and geopolitical tensions intensifying, trade and cooperation have become the most realistic and urgent common interest point between China and France.

For Macron, France and Europe are facing challenges of weak economic growth and inflation pressure. On one hand, in future-oriented fields such as electric vehicles and green energy, Europe feels lagging behind. French car manufacturers have a weak presence in the Chinese market, but they face significant pressure for local transformation. Therefore, France not only wants to export products but also hopes for Chinese high-tech investments.

Macron and his wife went to Chengdu

On the other hand, Macron has always advocated for Europe's "strategic autonomy," and economic independence is the foundation of this grand blueprint. Therefore, strengthening cooperation with China is in line with the interests of France and the entire Europe. For China, facing some countries' attempts to "decouple and cut off the chain," maintaining a stable economic and trade relationship with France, a core country in the EU, is an important part of breaking the encirclement.

However, the differences between China and France are very prominent. In the economic field, the EU accuses China of "excess capacity" and "unfair subsidies," while China demands a "fair and non-discriminatory" business environment. The EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles; China has initiated anti-dumping investigations on French brandy, and both sides believe the other has set up market barriers.

From a strategic perspective, what role should Europe play in the US's "Indo-Pacific Strategy"? Although France advocates autonomy, it still relies on NATO for security, and its warships participate in "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea, which China views as a security threat. On international issues, whether it is the Ukraine-Russia conflict or the Middle East crisis, China and France have different starting points and preferences for solutions.

Macron

These differences are difficult to reconcile because they mostly stem from different historical experiences, political systems, development stages, and philosophical concepts. This also means that reaching consensus on these issues will take a long time. The results of Macron's visit to China are concentrated in trade and difficult to cross the red lines, which reflects a new normal in international relations, where major powers are increasingly skilled at managing differences and can only engage in "transactional cooperation" on specific interests.

In summary, Macron's fourth visit to China was a successful "limited mission" diplomacy. It effectively consolidated and expanded the "ballast stone" of Sino-French relations, which is economic and trade cooperation. However, the strong wind of trade cooperation is not enough to dispel the heavy fog in the fields of political mutual trust, security strategy, and values. The large ship of Sino-French relations is destined to cautiously navigate through the stormy waves of differences.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7580304481217233408/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.