French President Emmanuel Macron will embark on a state visit to China from April 5th to 7th. At the same time, according to an agreement reached between China and the European Union, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will also visit China during the same period.
The visits of both Macron and von der Leyen to China are expected to send certain signals. To gain insights into this matter, Yangcheng Evening News interviewed Lu Yu, a committee member of the Overseas Chinese Youth Association, a special foreign expert in the French Ministry of Labor and a visiting professor at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature and the School of Information and Digital Sciences at the Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas.
An unconventional visit to China
"This visit is slightly unusual in diplomatic terms, as it is rare for a head of state to be accompanied by a leader from another international organization," said Lu Yu. As a staunch supporter of a united Europe, Macron has long hoped to speak on behalf of the entire European Union. However, he cannot represent the entire EU, and therefore hopes to have the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, endorse his views. This not only demonstrates that Macron remains an important leader within the EU, but also that the views expressed from a European standpoint can be represented by von der Leyen, thereby showing the unity of the EU.
In addition, von der Leyen, a German national, is the President of the European Commission, and Macron's decision to bring a German with him on this trip to China further highlights the position of France and Germany as the engine of the European Union. Furthermore, Macron will be accompanied by two former French prime ministers, underscoring the importance he attaches to this visit.
According to Lu Yu, the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to be discussed during the visit. Lu pointed out that Europe is a direct party to the conflict, and its need for a ceasefire is even more urgent than that of the United States. "The longer the war lasts, the greater the losses for Europe, while the United States does not necessarily share the same view, as a prolonged conflict would benefit them," Lu said. "However, maintaining national territorial integrity is an insurmountable red line for Europe in terms of political correctness. Therefore, the EU can only privately lean towards China's proposal, which is to first cease fire and negotiate, and then make decisions according to the negotiation results."
Another issue is the use of nuclear weapons. "Although the possibility is very low, nuclear weapons are not ruled out as an option in the war," Lu said. "The use of nuclear weapons will have no impact on the United States, but it is a real threat to the people of Europe. This is also one of the reasons why Macron privately leans towards China's proposal."
The Importance of Cultural Exchange between China and France
Due to the pandemic, there has been no exchange of visits between the leaders of China and France for several years. An interesting phenomenon is that normally such visits should be reciprocal, but after French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to China in 2019, he did not wait for a return visit from China but made another trip to China himself. According to Lu, this can indirectly demonstrate that France has a more urgent need for China.
Apart from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Lu also believes that restarting scientific and technological cooperation between China and France may also be an important topic of discussion. The cooperation between the two countries in science and technology has a long history, dating back to the signing of the first science and technology cooperation agreement in 1978. The China-France Joint Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation is an important platform for this cooperation. However, since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Joint Committee has not held any meetings. "I believe that after Macron's visit to China, the Joint Committee will be restarted and will further promote cooperation between China and France in nuclear energy, climate change, oceans, and astronomy," said Lu.
In terms of economic cooperation, France also hopes to restart economic and trade cooperation, including tourism, as soon as possible. This is not only important for economic recovery but also a crucial channel for promoting exchanges between the two countries. Moreover, the restarting of the China-EU investment agreement will also be an area of concern during Macron's and von der Leyen's visit. "Europe often lacks independence on major issues and is subject to US interference. Therefore, in the process of cooperation between China and Europe, the EU will try to avoid direct conflict with the US and ensure that cooperation between China and Europe is not interfered with by third parties," said Lu.
Lu emphasized that China and France both have a long history and splendid culture, representing the civilizations of the East and the West. As early as the Kangxi period, France and China had exchanged letters between their heads of state and sent envoys to each other. Therefore, in their interactions, "cultural and people-to-people exchanges should be given a relatively prominent position." Will Macron be able to take this opportunity to promote cultural, linguistic, and tourism exchanges, encourage young people from both countries to get to know each other, and guide friendly cities to engage in substantive cooperation, and promote people-to-people exchanges to extend to the grassroots level? We have high expectations for this.
French President Emmanuel Macron's upcoming visit to China will include a stop in Guangdong province, according to Lu Yu. He emphasized that one of the reasons Macron chose to visit Guangdong is that it is a major economic province and an important gateway for China's opening up to the world. Macron is reportedly eager to see China further expand its opening-up policies and encourage French enterprises to set up headquarters in Guangdong.
Additionally, the Alliance Française in Guangzhou, established in 1989 and based at Jinan University, has trained tens of thousands of students from diverse backgrounds and is one of the largest French teaching institutions among the 14 Alliance Française in China. The Institute of France-China Nuclear Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University is also a model of cooperation in elite engineering education between the two countries. It is yet unknown if Macron will visit these two schools and deliver speeches, but it is highly anticipated.
马克龙与冯德莱恩联袂访华，有何深意？
4月3日，中方宣布了两位欧洲领导人同一时间来访的消息——法国总统马克龙、欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩将于4月5日至7日访华。
本次马克龙与冯德莱恩的访华将释放出什么信号？对此，羊城晚报全媒体记者采访了全国青联海外学人华侨界别委员，法国劳动和就业部特聘外籍专家，巴黎第二大学外国语言文学院、信息及数字化学院客座教授卢宇。
“这次访问稍微超出外交惯例”
“这次访问稍微超出了外交惯例，因为一个国家元首访华很少同时会有另一个国际机构的领导人同行。”卢宇表示，马克龙作为大欧洲的坚定支持者，与欧盟委员会主席冯德莱恩同行，这样一方面显示自己依然是欧盟的重要领导力量，另一方面，冯德莱恩以欧盟立场发表观点，也更坚定显示出欧盟的团结。
对于此次访华可能会涉及到的俄乌冲突话题，卢宇表示， 欧洲是这次冲突的直接相关方，欧洲对于停火的需求比美国更加迫切。
“对于欧洲来说，战争打得越久，欧洲损失越大，而美国并不这么想，打得越久美国获益越大。”卢宇指出，另一方面就是核武器的使用问题。“虽然可能性很低，但核武器并没有排除在战争的选项之外。”
中法之间的文化交流
应当摆在更加突出位置
卢宇认为，中法之间重启科技合作可能也是一个重要议题。中法之间的科技合作源远流长，自两国1978年签订第一份科技合作协议以来，已有逾40年的合作历史。中法科技合作联委会是中法科技合作的重要平台。
“我相信此次马克龙访华后，联委会将重启，并且进一步推进中法之间的核能、气候变化和海洋、天文方面的合作。”卢宇表示，在经济合作方面，法国也非常希望尽快重启包括旅游在内的经贸合作，这对复苏经济具有重要拉动作用，同时也是促进两国人员往来、民心相通的重要渠道。此外，中欧投资协定会不会重启，也是马克龙和冯德莱恩此行另一个值得关注的地方。
卢宇强调，中法都拥有悠久的历史和灿烂的文化，是东西方文明的代表。中法在交往时，“应当把人文交流和文化交流放在一个相对突出的位置”。
“马克龙能不能借这次访华的契机，促进文化交流、语言交流、旅游交流，推动两国青年相交相知，鼓励引导双方友好城市开展实质性合作，推动两国人文交流不断向基层延伸，我们对此充满期待。”卢宇强调。
此外，马克龙此行还会来到广东。卢宇指出，广东是经济大省和对外开放的窗口，马克龙之所以选择来到广东，是因为非常希望中国能够进一步扩大对外开放，推动法方企业落户广东。
此外，广州法语联盟（Alliance Française）自1989年设立以来，依托暨南大学培养了数以万计来自不同背景的学生，是中国14所法语联盟中最大的教学单位之一；中山大学中法核工程学院更是两国精英工程师教育合作的典范。马克龙此行会不会到访这两所学校并发表演讲，非常值得期待。
文、视频｜羊城晚报全媒体记者 孙唯
实习生｜邹茉
视频剪辑｜古司祺 黎杰文
翻译｜刘佳慧 白心怡
