Chinese leader to sign economic deals during visit in France

Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) and French President Emmanuel Macron walk on the terrace of the Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, southern France, on March, 24, 2019. AP

PARIS — Chinese President Xi Jinping is on a state visit in France where he is expected to sign a series of bilateral and economic deals on energy, the food industry, transport and other sectors.

Xi will be welcomed Monday by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, before a meeting and a state dinner at the Elysee presidential palace.

The Chinese leader, who previously visited Italy and Monaco, arrived in France on Sunday evening where he had a private dinner with Macron in the resort town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, on the French Riviera.

He will also meet in Paris on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Europe wants to increase trade with China but on European terms, especially amid U.S.-China trade tensions. /ee