France's Macron Outlines Reasons For Xi Talks Ahead Of Trilateral Meet

French President Emmanuel Macron speaking in Beijing ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Macron: "There is more and more talk of tension between East and West" States that he "...doesn't want to believe in a scenario of unstoppable spiral of tension," and that "There is no reason to fall into the logic of two antagonistic bloc," but "That doesn't mean France should be equidistant between the US and China."

• On the war in Ukraine, says that China, "can play a role in the war because of its tight relationship with Russia." Argues against 'decoupling', sating that "We shouldn't dissociate ourselves from China."
• On why he - and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen - are meeting with Xi, states that, "dialogue with China is essential, we can't let Russia have exclusive dialogue with China." Macron and von der Leyen are due to hold trilateral talks with Xi on Thursday.
• Says that "France will also need to talk about [the] settings of business relations with China...Trade relations with China are not balanced today."
• Macron: "France was one of the most rigorous countries on regulating strategic tech with China while getting more access for other sectors such as agriculture."