French and EU leaders will on Thursday seek to make Europe's case for bringing an end to the conflict in Ukraine in a Beijing meeting with Xi Jinping, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, reports FRANCE 24.
President Emmanuel Macron met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, as the French leader seeks to dissuade China from supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The French president, who arrived on Wednesday for a three-day state visit, shook hands with Xi outside the Great Hall of the People, the heart of power in the capital.
Xi greeted his guest on a huge red carpet lined by Chinese and French flags as the countries' national anthems played, an AFP journalist said.
As a meeting between Xi and Macron got under way, Chinese state media reported Xi as saying relations between the countries were "positive and steady", adding: "The world today is undergoing profound historical changes."