China's Xi Jinping has given French President Emmanuel Macron an unusually lavish welcome on a state visit, which some analysts see as a sign of Beijing's growing offensive to woo key allies within the European Union to counter the United States.
The two leaders visited southern China together on Friday, where Macron was due to drink Chinese tea with Xi in a former residence of his father in the city of Guangzhou, capital of the economic and manufacturing powerhouse of Guangdong province.
Such forays by Xi with visiting leaders are rare. Diplomats say it underlines the importance Beijing attaches to this relationship with a key member of the EU as it looks for support against what Xi has called "all-round containment, encirclement and suppression" by the U.S.
"All Chinese foreign policy offensives have the U.S.-China relationship in the background...so to work with any country, especially mid or big powers, like France, is something they'll try to do to counter the U.S." said Zhao Suisheng, a professor of China studies and foreign policy at the University of Denver.
Noah Barkin, an analyst with the Rhodium Group, said China's chief objective was to prevent Europe from aligning more closely with the United States.
"In this sense, Macron is perhaps Beijing's most important partner in Europe," he said. Macron is often considered by diplomats to be an important driver of key policies within the EU.
Macron travelled to China with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, both pressuring China on Ukraine, but failing to wrest any public shifts in position from Xi.
Still, Macron was given the full red carpet treatment.
Von der Leyen, who described China as "repressive" in a critical speech before her trip, cut a sometimes forlorn figure in Beijing, with a low-key greeting at the airport and not being invited to some state functions with Xi and Macron.
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