When the president of France wants to bring issues concerning the European Union to the international scene in order to seek solutions to climate change or global economic disputes, he no longer calls Washington. He turns to Beijing.
President Emmanuel Macron's most recent visit to China this week suggests that under United States President Donald Trump, the country is at risk of being sidelined on the global stage.
One event spoke volumes: Chinese President Xi Jinping drank French wines, newly-hit with harsh new tariffs by Trump's administration.
Macron described himself as an EU-wide diplomat, conveying the message that the union mostly gave up on Trump, who does not conceal his contempt of multilateralism.
Just as the Trump administration officially began the phase of withdrawing from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, on Wednesday France and China released a "Beijing Request" for increased global collaboration to combat climate change.
The US withdrawal was deplored by both nations. "The isolated choice of one country cannot change the course of the world. It only leads to marginalization," said Macron.
While the Chinese leader relished fine wines and high-quality beef offered by the host during an import event in Shanghai, the French president floated the idea for more openings to European products in mainland China's business landscape.
"I think he discovered Languedoc wine. He didn't know it, he liked it. He tasted Burgundy and Bordeaux classic wine," Macron told reporters.
According to Xi, the two leaders were sending a strong message to the world about steadfastly "upholding multilateralism and free trade", and uniting together to build "open economies."
Macron vowed to return every year during his first State visit to China in January 2018 in an effort to establish "mutual trust." Since then, Xi has traveled to France when China signed a purchase agreement in March.
Macron flew east this time, taking with him an aggressive platform that involves creating a common position on restructuring the World Trade Organization and combating climate change.
Since Trump plucked the US out of the United Nations nuclear agreement in 2015, France and China reiterated their support for the hard-fought agreement that had helped both countries to negotiate.
In Beijing, Macron described recent Gulf tensions as "the negative impact of non-compliance with a multilateral agreement," adding that the "American mistake was to leave (the pact) unilaterally."
The EU often joins US criticism of Chinese protectionist policies, government subsidies, and other restrictive practices on trade.
