As China has been facing its worst epidemic wave for two months since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020, Paris is worried about the situation of its nationals. Emmanuel Macron thus asked Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday to “take into account the concerns” of French people affected by the restrictions against Covid-19, said the Elysée.
During a 1h30 telephone interview between the two leaders, the Head of State “expressed France’s solidarity” with China. He also notably asked the Chinese authorities “to maintain air connectivity to France, to authorize travel to airports and to protect the best interests of children by avoiding, whatever the circumstances, separating them of their parents,” said the presidency.
“The urgency of reaching a ceasefire” in Ukraine
Many French people are subject to the restrictions imposed on the entire population in several provinces, in particular in Shanghai, confined since April and where there are some 7,000 French people, and in Beijing, where travel is limited and many public places closed.
At the start of the exchange, Xi Jinping also verbally congratulated Emmanuel Macron on his re-election, expressing “the wish to continue to deepen the Franco-Chinese strategic partnership”, particularly in the fields of civil nuclear power and energy. aeronautics, according to the Elysée and the Chinese public television CCTV. They also again insisted on “the urgency of reaching a ceasefire” in Ukraine, whose “territorial integrity” must be respected.
Finally, Emmanuel Macron “welcomed the ratification of the two fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) relating to the fight against forced labor, which should now be fully implemented throughout China, in particular in Xinjiang,” according to the Elysée. Accused of resorting to forced labor in this region with a Muslim majority, Beijing ratified on April 20 these international conventions prohibiting this practice.