After a two-year hiatus, French President Emmanuel Macron returned to China for a state visit from December 3 to 5, with stops in both Beijing and Chengdu. At a time when profound, generation-defining shifts in the global landscape are unfolding, the world economy is straining to regain momentum and geopolitical realignments are gathering speed, this high-level engagement between China and France, both permanent members of the UN Security Council and major powers that prize strategic autonomy, carries weight well beyond the bilateral relationship.

Macron’s trip is not just about reaffirming and deepening a comprehensive strategic partnership; it is a deliberate attempt to use the relative stability of China-France ties to counterbalance mounting global uncertainty. By honoring his promise to return to China, Macron is signaling a shared expectation in both Beijing and Paris for closer coordination, an expectation rooted not in na?veté, but in sober strategic calculation and a clear-eyed pursuit of mutual benefit.

Tapping complementarities

Head-of-state diplomacy has long been a driving force behind China-France economic and trade cooperation. High-level visits provide an efficient channel for pragmatic dialogue, much like the well-established China-Germany model, where engagement is guided not by ideology but by industrial complementarity and market logic. Over the years, China and France have built a deeply interdependent economic relationship, one that adheres to market principles, balances each side’s interests and makes each an integral part of the other’s economic fabric.

Macron’s last visit in April 2023 offered a vivid illustration of this dynamic. The agreement for China to purchase 160 Airbus aircraft, with a contract value of roughly $20 billion, demonstrated how market demand naturally aligns with complementary industrial strengths. At the same time, French orders for Chinese-built container vessels worth about $3.1 billion highlighted France’s confidence in China’s high-end manufacturing capabilities. Rather than a zero-sum deal where gains are lopsided, it is a symbiotic partnership that enables both countries to capitalize on their market size, industrial strengths and long-term strategic priorities.

Macron led a large delegation of business leaders on this visit, underscoring that economic and trade cooperation remains at the core of his agenda. Beyond aviation, France, as Europe’s leading agricultural producer, seeks to further expand its access to the Chinese market for high-quality agricultural and food products, building on the “from French farms to Chinese tables” mechanism that links the entire supply chain. China, for its part, aims to deepen cooperation with French enterprises in areas where it holds strong competitive advantages, including new energy, green technologies and the digital economy.

At a time when the EU has tightened certain regulatory measures toward China, China is expected to maintain its long-standing openness and work with France to safeguard a fair, predictable environment for Chinese investment and products in the French market. Through technological cooperation and institution-based opening up, the two sides can help ease frictions over market access and regulatory reciprocity, potentially setting a constructive benchmark for broader China-EU economic and trade engagement.

Of course, a single visit cannot resolve every disagreement over market openness, industrial rules or technology governance. Its significance lies in reopening space for sustained, high-level consultation between China and France, and, by extension, between China and Europe, on?precisely these foundational issues, and in laying the groundwork for both sides to seek a new, more stable balance of interests.

Supporting a multipolar world

Among major Western powers, France’s geopolitical outlook has always been distinctive. Rooted in “strategic autonomy,” which derives from the de Gaullist idea of independence, France has long advocated an independent foreign policy, opposed all forms of unilateral hegemony and championed multilateralism and the post-World War II international order, an approach that resonates with China’s own commitment to an independent foreign policy of peace.

Today, the shift toward a more multipolar world is irreversible. The U.S., China and Europe are all key pillars of global stability, and constructive interaction among them is widely viewed as essential. Within this configuration, France has pushed for the EU to assume a more independent role on the world stage, a stance that dovetails with China’s support for European integration and its welcoming of the EU as a major pole in an increasingly multipolar system.

Recent signals also point to growing strategic trust. Media report that Macron is considering inviting China to attend the G7 summit that France will host in 2026. On the Taiwan question, France has consistently upheld the one-China principle, and in a recent phone call with his Chinese counterpart, the French foreign minister explicitly expressed understanding of China’s legitimate position. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France thus shares with China a core interest in upholding the post-war international order on this fundamental issue.

On the Ukraine crisis, China has consistently advocated dialogue and negotiation and opposed further escalation of the conflict. During Macron’s visit, China and France exchanged views on preventing escalation and advancing a political settlement. Such high-level communication can help build consensus in favor of peace and inject much-needed positive?momentum into regional stability.

Deepening civilizational dialogue

People-to-people exchange has long been a traditional strength and a solid foundation of China-France relations. Macron’s decision to add Chengdu to his itinerary, alongside Beijing, sends a signal that goes beyond protocol and logistics.

Chengdu is home to one of the world’s best-known giant panda research and breeding centers. Not long ago, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi, a pair of giant pandas who had lived in France for 13 years and become beloved symbols of the relationship, returned to China. France now hopes to welcome a new, younger pair. This “panda diplomacy” remains one of the most recognizable and endearing emblems of the deep friendship between the two countries.

Chengdu is also a cradle of Chinese civilization, preserving the rich heritage of the ancient Shu culture, flourishing more than 3,000 years ago in what is now the Chengdu region, with the Sanxingdui site as its most remarkable example. A visit there reflects France’s respect for China’s long history and cultural diversity, and offers an opportunity to gain a more comprehensive, multidimensional understanding of the country, one that goes beyond the skylines of its coastal megacities.

At the same time, Chengdu is the economic hub of west China, with notable strengths in new energy, aerospace and digital industries. Macron’s stop there is expected to encourage French companies to deepen their presence in the region’s dynamic markets and to explore cooperation in areas such as supply chain resilience, critical raw?materials and emerging future-oriented?industries.

China-France solution for global governance

Macron’s visit is an important milestone in the evolution of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership. In the economic realm, the two sides are expected to continue leveraging their complementary strengths and pursuing pragmatic cooperation to address development challenges. At the strategic level, they can work together to safeguard multilateralism and inject greater stability into an increasingly multipolar international order. In the people-to-people sphere, deeper civilizational dialogue will help ensure that the tree of friendship between the two countries remains evergreen.

Structural differences will, of course, persist in China-France and China-EU relations. Yet as long as both sides uphold mutual respect and engage in dialogue on an equal footing, no problem is insurmountable.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1964, China and France have carved out a distinctive path of major-power engagement grounded in strategic autonomy. Looking ahead, as the world grapples with shared challenges such as climate change and public health crises, the two countries, both firm defenders of multilateralism, enjoy broad space for cooperation. By strengthening strategic communication and expanding practical collaboration, China and France can not only deepen their bilateral partnership, but also help bring greater stability to an uncertain world, jointly contributing a “China-France solution” to the future of global governance.

The author is a researcher at the National Academy of Open?Economy Studies and director of the French Economic Research Center at the University of International Business and Economics.