French President Emmanuel Macron arrives in Beijing

Beijing, The Gulf Observer: French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Beijing to kick off his state visit to China from April 5 to 7.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, during Macron’s visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with his French counterpart to map out the future development of bilateral relations, deepen China-France and China-EU cooperation in various fields, and have an in-depth exchange of views on major international and regional hotspot issues.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and top legislator Zhao Leji will also meet with Macron.

The French president will also visit Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province.

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, president of the French Constitutional Council Laurent Fabius, several French ministers and members of parliament as well as more than 60 leaders of large enterprises and over 20 cultural representatives reportedly have accompanied the French president during his visit.

The Chinese side has said it is ready to work with France to take this visit as an opportunity to produce new outcomes in the close and enduring comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, promote the sound development of China-EU relations and contribute to world peace, stability, and development.

Over the recent years, Sino-French economic and trade exchanges have maintained a good momentum of growth. The latest statistics from France showed that bilateral trade in goods exceeded the 100-billion-euro ($109.5 billion) mark for the first time in 2022, reaching 101.8 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 percent.