Chinese president attends state dinner hosted by French counterpart after arriving in Paris for his first European tour in five years.
Chinese President Xi Jinping was hosted by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at a state dinner at the Élysée Palace on Monday evening following bilateral talks that appeared to show progress on some fronts, including Beijing’s engagement with Moscow.
Xi and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, landed on Sunday at Orly airport in Paris where they were received by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Among the more than 120 guests invited to a state dinner for the Chinese leader were actress Gong Li – famous for her starring roles in groundbreaking films including Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine – and her husband, the musician Jean-Michel Jarre. Other cinematic luminaries included Salma Hayek and Luc Besson.
LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, also known as the world’s richest person, and his daughter Delphine Arnault, CEO of LVMH brand Christian Dior Couture, were among the nearly 60 corporate leaders invited.
The senior Arnault’s attendance highlights a point of bilateral trade friction: Beijing’s trade probe into exports of European brandy to China, most of which comprises French cognac, including LVMH’s Hennessy brand.
Earlier on Monday, Macron offered Xi two bottles of Cognac – a Hennessy XO and a prized Louis XIII by Remy Martin – along with rare volumes by Victor Hugo, the first French-Chinese dictionary and a sculpted glass vase from the town of Amboise.
Xi’s gifts to the French president included French-language books published in China as well as a painting.
