Preparing for high-level discussions in China are the presidents of France and the European Commission.

French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are due to visit China on Wednesday for a three-day state visit. They will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss the war in Ukraine and how to get support from China in dealing with Russia. China is officially neutral in the war but has been propping up Russia economically and diplomatically in the face of Western sanctions. The French leader will be accompanied by a delegation of more than 50 CEOs, and he will meet with the French business community. Macron’s visit is his first to China since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in early 2020, when Beijing effectively shut its borders to travel. His trip follows one made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November but has already taken a different tone. Scholz’s trip was widely criticised in Europe as too conciliatory towards Beijing, with the German leader’s efforts to shore up the country’s business interests taking precedence over pushing China to join the negotiating table over Ukraine.