France's Macron meets EU Commission chief ahead of China visit

PARIS, FRANCE - APRIL 3: French President Emmanuel Macron met Monday, April 3, with the EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen ahead of an upcoming China visit later this week. This meeting, held at the Elysée Palace, comes in preparation for the state visit to China which will take place between April 5-8. Von der Leyen and Macron will indeed participate in a trilateral meeting with Chinese President XI Jinping. Last week, the EU Commission chief urged the bloc to re-balance its relationship with China. Speaking at a joint event of the Mercator Institute for China Studies and the European Policy Centre, Von der Leyen stressed that the EU needs to “rebalance” its relationship with China since it is currently “unbalanced and increasingly affected by distortions created by China’s state capitalist system.” She said China is aiming to make itself “less dependent on the world and the world more dependent on China,” especially in cutting-edge technology. “China is becoming more repressive at home and more assertive abroad,” she said, referring to “grave human rights violations” against Muslim minorities in China’s Xinjiang province and “escalatory actions” towards EU societies. She stressed that the EU should not “cut economic, societal, political and scientific ties,” but it should aim for “fairer and more disciplined” competition in trade. (Footage by Mohamad Salaheldin Abdelg Alsayed/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)