Xi set to visit Macron as China seeks talks to end Russia-Ukraine war, threatening boycott– Politico

Chinese President Xi Jinping will come to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in early May, Politico writes, citing its own sources.

According to officials in Paris and Brussels, Xi's visit to France coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Paris and Beijing, and China is seeking to restore relations with Europe that have been soured by its closeness to Russia.

France expects the visit to be "less festive and more studious given the current economic and geopolitical stakes."

One of the officials said that Europe demands "reciprocity in relations with China, in particular in the key area of ecological transition".

Other representatives of the European Union indicated that China is trying to convince Ukraine's partners to sit down at the table for future negotiations to end the war, otherwise Beijing will boycott such meetings.

On March 4, the heads of the European External Action Service met with Li Hui in Brussels. The parties discussed Russia's war against Ukraine.

Commenting on the announced visit of China's Special Representative for Eurasia Li Hui to Ukraine, the head of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko expressed the opinion that he will come for the purpose of "probing the soil" and also to position China as a peacemaker.

During a visit to Kyiv, Li Hui was shown the wreckage of a missile from North Korea, which the Russians used to attack Ukraine.