China’s Xi Jinping doesn’t want preemptive tariffs applied on European brandy, France’s Emmanuel Macron said Monday after an hours-long discussion between the two presidents in Paris.
Macron thanked Xi “for his openness regarding the provisional measures on French cognac and his wish not to see them applied,” Macron told reporters at the Elysée Palace.
Beijing has launched an anti-dumping investigation into European wine-based liquors, largely targeting France’s cognac producers. Professionals from the French sector said tariffs could endanger its future and that the Cognac region as a whole depended “on the outcome of talks between presidents Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron.”
Speaking at a French-Chinese business summit later in the evening, Macron said he would welcome Chinese investments in France including into electric vehicles and batteries — but once again stressed the need for balance in mutual trade.
“Our relations have always been at the forefront of relations between China and Western countries, setting an example of mutual reinforcement and progress,” Xi said at the event.
Earlier in the day, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who attended a meeting with Xi and Macron, said China’s “overcapacity” in fields including electric vehicles had resulted in “unsustainable unbalances.”
Macron’s gifts to Xi included various bottles of French Cognac. Xi didn’t comment on the issue of liquor tariffs.
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