Days after Macron's India visit, China's Xi Jinping attempts to woo back France

Perhaps insecure due to the growing bonhomie between India and France after President Emmanuel Macron visited New Delhi as the guest of honour at the Republic Day parade, Chinese President Xi Jinping has offered to "break new ground" to give a fillip to China-France ties.

Macron's visit to India coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France. Reflecting on the occasion, Xi released a statement and talked about joint development.

“As today's world is once again at a critical crossroads, China and France should jointly open up a path of peace, security, prosperity and progress for human development.”

Xi added that it was an opportunity to "uphold fundamental principles, break new ground, build on past achievements, open up a new future, and make China-France comprehensive strategic partnership more solid and dynamic".

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hadoffered to step up French imports to the country.

“We will continue to unleash consumer and investment market demand, continue to expand the import of high-quality products and services from France," he said and hoped that France too will provide Chinese companies with a fair, just and predictable business environment.

Growing India-France ties

Macron, the sixth French leader to attend India's Republic Day parade, has been a trusted ally of New Delhi. After India extended the invitation for the parade, following the alleged refusal byUS President Biden, Macron immediately accepted the request.

During the trip, Macron held productive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on various issues. The two countries unveiledan ambitious defence industrial roadmap to co-develop critical military hardware, besides firming up cooperation in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific region.

Notably, Xi's statement comes a couple of days after Macron announced that his government intended to welcome 30,000 Indian studentsby 2030 to the country.Terming it an "ambitioustarget", Macron said he was "determined" to make it happen.

The French prez also highlightedthat the visa process would also be streamlined for students who had previously studied in the European nation, making it easier for them to return.

"India and France have so much to do together, now and in the future. We will achieve this with you, our young people, in exchange and cooperation, in trust, in friendship!" he added.

The intensification of India-France cooperation, especially in the Indo-Pacific, concerns China. The Chinese president understands that if New Delhi and Paris get any closer, it could spell trouble for Beijing's aspirations.

(With inputs from agencies)