Macron’s Visit to China: Climate, AI & Multilateral Cooperation

CGTN Europe

Laurent Cohen-Tanugi, lawyer and former chairman of the French governmental task force on Europe, spoke to CGTN Europe about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to China. The discussion highlighted the potential for China-France cooperation in areas such as climate, green energy, and artificial intelligence. It also underscored the opportunity for both countries to ease tensions and promote a rules-based international order as they assume greater roles in global economic leadership by 2026.

Transcript

00:00China's President Xi Jinping has held talks with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in Beijing.

00:05Now the meeting followed a welcome ceremony for Macron's fourth state visit to China.

00:10The two leaders also witnessed the signing of agreements on nuclear energy, agriculture and environmental protection.

00:17Laurent Cohen-Tannouji is an international lawyer and writer on geopolitics.

00:23The state visit of a French president to China is always a significant event.

00:28It is particularly significant given the challenging times that the world is experiencing right now.

00:37The war in Ukraine, trade tensions between China and the EU, the China-U.S. rivalry.

00:46So whether the outcome of the visit is significant or will be more significant than the previous one remains to be seen.

00:56But it's definitely a significant event.

00:58Yeah, so much to talk about.

01:00The two leaders also witnessed the signing of numerous agreements.

01:04Which sectors are you most excited about that you believe have the most potential?

01:11Well, I think the sectors most potential are everything that has to do with climates and green energy.

01:19The AI, obviously.

01:23So these are the sectors there where there are common goals between France and China.

01:33There are other sectors where France is quite strong.

01:37Obviously luxury, aeronautics and so on where there are already significant French exports to China.

01:45But these, I think, these are the most promising ones, I would say, climate and AI digital.

01:55China and France will host global economic leadership roles in 2026 in APEC and in the G7 respectively.

02:02So they're both going to be taking on big leadership roles.

02:05How significant is that for their bilateral relations?

02:10Well, it's an opportunity for both countries to try to reduce trade and geopolitical tensions.

02:17I think President Macron would like to invite China to the G7 summit in 2026.

02:26But, I mean, the goal is to try to foster a rule-based international order and multilateralism,

02:32which is, again, under attack by the return to great power politics.

02:38And so really that's the significance of this leadership position, whether they can achieve that or not.

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