ISTANBUL

Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday in Beijing, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi held an official welcoming ceremony for Macron on Wednesday as he arrived on a state visit.

Macron said Wednesday that he would discuss “peace and economic rebalancing” with Xi.

"I am keen to work with China and all our partners on these major challenges," he said as he began the three-day state visit at Xi’s invitation.

Macron said France was even "more determined" to work with China and partner countries in light of his country assuming the G7 presidency in January next year.

"Together we can change things," he said in a brief statement on the US social media company X’s platform.

Accompanied by business leaders and government officials, this is Macron’s fourth state visit to the world’s second-largest economy.

Macron and his wife Brigitte were received by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi upon landing in Beijing.

He will hold talks with Xi, Premier Li Qiang and China’s top lawmaker Zhao Leji before traveling Friday to the sprawling southwestern city of Chengdu.

Xi will host Macron for one-on-one talks in Chengdu, with bilateral ties, trade and US tariffs, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza likely on the agenda.

The two leaders will also discuss China’s ties with the European Union as trade between the two rose to around $785.8 billion last year.

As Macron landed in Beijing, the EU on Wednesday launched a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) plan aimed at upgrading the bloc’s economic arsenal and diminishing “its heavy reliance on China for critical minerals, including rare earths," according to the South China Morning Post.

"Europe remains a champion of open trade and global investment, but openness without security becomes vulnerability," said European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic, according to Euronews.

"To stay resilient in a shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape, we must use our tools more strategically and assertively while developing new ones to reinforce our economic security," he added.

Foreign Minister Wang held talks with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot in Beijing on Wednesday, discussing regional and global issues.

Wang warned of the dangers of recent remarks on Taiwan by Japan’s leadership and urged China and France, as victorious World War II nations, to jointly oppose any attempt to revive past militarism or provoke tensions over Taiwan.

*Islamuddin Sajid contributed to this story