The political scientist stated Macron's interest in relations with China for the sake of French sovereignty.

French President Emmanuel Macron is interested in trade cooperation with China, as this will help strengthen France's sovereignty against the backdrop of a possible trade war between the European Union (EU) and the United States. This was stated to Izvestia on January 20 by political analyst Alexander Asafov.

Earlier in the day, Macron, during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, said that Europe needs more Chinese investment, especially in some sectors of the economy. His speech was published by the BFMTV channel.

According to the expert, direct contacts with Beijing have become a way for European countries to demonstrate independence, especially in the face of pressure from Washington.

"Direct communication with China is now literally a tool for strengthening, even cultivating some kind of sovereignty,<...> with a direct demonstration of the position to the Americans. And here it is worth looking at the actions of Canada, which is also under obvious American pressure, which is directly concluding agreements with the Chinese," Asafov said.

He recalled that back in 2015, Macron, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), used the word "sovereignty" more than 20 times and "France" only about five times.

"It's important to him too. And here, of course, he is playing this game when the Western consensus is, in fact, going through difficult times," the political scientist emphasized.

Asafov added that China is perceived by many European leaders as a "polar force" capable of benefiting, but Beijing evaluates partners based on long-term dynamics, and on changing rhetoric. According to him, Macron will be reminded of his "exhortatory" trips to Beijing in order to turn him against Moscow. At the same time, as the analyst pointed out, China is objectively interested in the European market and in weakening trade ties between the United States and the EU.

"He will be happy if that tariff war begins, the beginnings, at least, of the declarative ones that we are witnessing," Asafov concluded.

Visiting the Dragon: Macron arrives in China on his fourth state visit

Paris is trying to convince Beijing to put pressure on Moscow on the Ukrainian issue

Earlier in the day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Macron had allowed rudeness and disregard for Russia, but Moscow is above such rhetoric. He also quoted the French leader as saying that Russia allegedly "chose the path of war itself" and "cannot come to terms with its history," stressing that such statements indicate that Macron does not know the past of the Russian Federation.

The French leader said on December 7 last year that the EU would take tough measures in the coming months if China did not take steps to resolve the trade deficit between the two sides. Otherwise, according to Macron, Europe will be forced to impose duties on Chinese goods, as the United States did.

Before that, on December 4, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing and Paris should show responsibility in the face of large-scale changes. He added that at the moment the world is at a crossroads and is experiencing large-scale changes that are rapidly developing.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.