Macron is given a rock star welcome, mobbed by students ahead of speech at Chinese university

French President Emmanuel Macron was greeted by a huge crowd at a university in southern China on Friday as he neared the end of a three-day visit in which he has repeatedly pushed his counterpart Xi Jinping to help end the conflict in Ukraine.

Macron, who landed in the capital Beijing on Wednesday, has said he is trying to dissuade China from supporting Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.

This morning he flew to the southern city of Guangzhou, where he was harassed by hundreds of screaming students desperate for a selfie or a high-five with the French leader – a stark contrast to the hundreds of thousands of protesters who want him back home. amid riots over pension reforms.

Macron, whose name was chanted by some in the crowd, then spoke to students in the campus gym and answered their questions before an early dinner with Xi ahead of meetings with Chinese investors and a flight home.

It comes after the French leader met his Chinese counterpart for talks in Beijing on Thursday, ultimately not encouraging Xi to change his stance on the war in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, at home in France, enraged protesters set fire to one of the French president’s favorite restaurants amid lingering anger over his hated pension reforms.

At a press conference after the talks, Macron gave a lengthy speech that overshadowed the Chinese leader’s truncated remarks — a political “faux pas” that seemed to irk Xi, who shifted his weight sighing and uneasily as his French counterpart wandered on.

Putin’s invasion of his neighbor has dominated Macron’s visit to China – his first since 2019.

He told students in Guangzhou that the war was “a manifest violation of our international law.”

Russia, Macron said, was “a country that has decided to colonize its neighbor and not respect the rules.”

“The international order is now weakened and we have a responsibility, China and France, to preserve it while reinventing it in the light of the realities of the 21st century,” he said.

Macron also urged them to embrace a “critical mind” that would enable them to become “free, rational individuals” – another stark contrast to the rigid, state-controlled education to which Chinese students are subjected.

In his talks with Xi on Thursday, Macron said: “I can count on you to bring Russia to its senses and bring everyone to the negotiating table.”

And a French diplomat told AFP Xi was ready to speak with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, but only when the time is right.

Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, who accompanies Macron on his visit, welcomed Xi’s openness to talk to Zelensky.

Unlike the amicable Macron, von der Leyen has taken a firm tone in her talks with Chinese officials this week.

On Thursday, she said she had shared with officials her “deep concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation” and had warned Beijing that arms shipments to Russia would “significantly damage relations.”

However, Moscow has poured cold water on the prospects of Beijing’s mediation, insisting on Thursday that it had “no choice” but to continue its offensive against Ukraine.

“Undoubtedly, China has a very effective and impressive potential for mediation,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

“But the situation with Ukraine is complex, so far there are no prospects for a political settlement.”

In addition to the war in Ukraine, Macron’s visit also aimed at strengthening a crucial trade partnership.

The French leader is joined in China by more than 50 French corporate executives, including the top bosses of Airbus, EDF and Veolia.

Airbus announced on Thursday it would open a second final assembly line in China that will double production capacity in the country, with the framework for the deal signed by CEO Guillaume Faury in Beijing.

Asia has become an important market for both Airbus and its American rival Boeing as demand for air travel rises with a growing middle class.