A joint press conference by Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron after talks on the first day of the visit glossed over the thorny question of trade relations between their two countries.
A bottle of exclusive Louis XIII cognac was among the gifts Macron gave Xi, a nod to Beijing opening an anti-dumping investigation into French cognac.
Macron praised his counterpart for his âopen attitudeâ towards the inquiry and added France hoped its products could continue having access to the Chinese market.
Earlier, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she was âconvinced that if the competition is fairâ from China, then Europe âwill have thriving durable economiesâ.
But she said the âimbalancesâ caused by state support for Chinese industry leading to cut-cost products threatened jobs in Europe, and that was âa matter of great concernâ.
âEurope will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and security,â she said.
Read the full story here, from Lisa OâCarroll and Kim Willsher
