French President Emmanuel Macaron delivered a speech at the start of his visit to China in Xi'an, the birthplace of Chinese civilization, in which he called for a broad alliance between France, Europe and China for the "future of the world." Macaron stressed the importance of increasing commitment to combating climate change and building balanced cooperation between China and Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macaron Monday called for a broad alliance between France, Europe and China, especially in the field of climate and China's "New Silk Road" project, pledging to visit China "once a year at least."
"Our destinies are intertwined," McCron said in an hour-and-a-quarter speech in Xi'an, the birthplace of Chinese civilization in the north of the country and the first leg of his China visit, where he arrived in the morning.
"The future needs France, Europe and China, we are the memory of the world, it is up to us to decide to be its future," he said.
McCron will introduce Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met Monday and Tuesday in Beijing, to "re-launch the climate battle" by "increasing our commitments" to combat warming at the 24th International Environment Conference scheduled for the end of 2018 in Poland.
The French president said that the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement on the climate requires a French-Chinese leadership in this area, declaring a "French-Chinese year of environmental transition" for the period 2018-2019.
He stressed that without China's decision to adhere to it, "the Paris agreement would not have continued" after the US decision, pointing out in return that China remains the first country in terms of emissions of greenhouse gases.
"China has fulfilled its promise, you have demonstrated your true awareness and tremendous sense of responsibility." Who would have imagined a few years ago that China would emerge as a force that would make it at the forefront of the world?
"France is undergoing a profound transformation, and with it Europe is returning to building a balanced cooperation with China," he said, calling for "the sectors in which we can cooperate and open our markets on both sides, and those we do not want to."
He also called for "progress" in the new silk road project launched by Xi Jinping in 2013 with the aim of cementing China's trade ties through Europe and Asia.
"I hope that France and Europe will be present at the date set by China," he said.
He pointed out that the Silk Road "was never a purely Chinese day," explaining that it was "originally Portuguese" and crossed Central Asia. "I do not want to turn them into European roads, but these roads are common and can not be one-way."
