Strong reception and weaker response Did Macron fail in his mission in China?

French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting China with the task of persuading the country's leader to change his stance on the war in Ukraine, and as a reason to convince Putin to back down from it. This is what the Chinese leadership seems far from responding to, so has Macron failed in his mission?

As part of a state visit, French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, where he found a huge reception waiting for him in the famous Tiananmen Square, punctuated by a military parade and firing of welcoming cannons, as well as the warm embrace of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

However, these manifestations of hospitality do not indicate any tacit Chinese approval of what Macron brought to them, and the mission that in turn carried him to Beijing. On the other hand, the French president's intent was to persuade Xi to change his position on Ukraine or to mediate a solution to the crisis, aspiring to erase the precedent of his failure to dissuade Putin from entering the war, during his visit to Moscow a few days before its outbreak.

And after bilateral talks that brought together the two presidents, the Chinese president's speech revealed his country's continued adherence to its first position, despite Macron's insistent calls. This was interpreted by a number of analysts, that the French president failed once again in the mediation mission, and even reached the point of the British newspaper "Telegraph" to say that "Macron has humiliated himself and humiliated the European Union."

Unanswered calls

Before his meeting with Xi Jinping, and in a meeting with the French community in China on Wednesday, Macron emphasized the political mission of his visit. This is when he stated that Beijing could "play a major role" in finding a "path leading to peace" in Ukraine, explaining that the Asian country "has proposed a peace plan and thus shows its will to assume responsibility and try to build a path that leads to it."

This is the message Macron himself conveyed to President Xi Jinping, during their bilateral meeting on Thursday, telling him: "I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to its senses and bring everyone back to the negotiating table."

Macron came to Beijing carrying numerous messages on the issue of the war in Ukraine, chief among them highlighting the unity of the European Union towards it, which was highlighted by the Commission President Ursula Fo der Leyen accompanying him on the trip. Which was more realistic in its bet, as it described the relations between Brussels and Beijing as "extremely complex."

Von der Leyen did not raise the ceiling of her ambitions from the visit, as did her companion, President Macron, but only said that it was "an important opportunity for frank and constructive dialogue" between all parties, as "it is important, and more important than ever, that we talk to each other." And to keep the lines of communication open,” and “how we manage our relations will be a decisive factor in our economic prosperity in the future.”

However, the response to all this was cold from the opposite side of the table, on the part of Xi Jinping, who expressed his adherence to his country's first position and showed no sign of changing it. And the Chinese president said : "All parties have reasonable security concerns," referring to Moscow's justifications for its war on Kiev, and he hopes that the two sides can conduct peace negotiations as soon as possible.

The most that the Chinese president promised was that his country is ready to jointly appeal to the international community with France to "remain rational and calm," in addition to a promise to talk to Zelensky "when conditions are available."

French MP Anne Genet, who also held talks with Chinese officials on Thursday, said there were no "surprises" in China's position on Ukraine, but stressed that "it is still useful to lay some foundations on this issue . "

Did Macron fail in his mission in China?

Although a second round of talks awaits Macron and Xi, before the first leaves Chinese territory. Beijing's response is a failure for the French president, in the task entrusted to him following the recent growth of Sino-Russian rapprochement, and talk of possible Chinese military support for Russia.

While observers agree that this mission also had a personal motive for Macron, and that he sees in it an opportunity to atone for his first failure to persuade Putin to abandon the war during the few days that preceded it, which at that time drew him widespread criticism.

This was confirmed by the American “Politico” website, in a report prior to the visit, saying: “The French president wants to play a more personal card with his Chinese counterpart, after he faced harsh criticism for hours of fruitless phone calls with Putin last year, which failed to stop the invasion.” All-Russian for Ukraine.

These criticisms are renewed this time, most notably what was written by the British “Telegraph”, describing Macron’s visit as “an attempt to humiliate himself and Europe”, and that it shows the extent of the “proneness” of the French President and the President of the European Commission before the “strong” leader of China, Xi Jinping, and explains Even better is the growing indifference of some European leaders to world affairs.