Earlier in the day, he delivered an hour-long speech to Chinese entrepreneurs, scholars, and college students in the northwestern city of Xi’an, a gateway to the ancient Silk Road. In his speech, Macron called on China and France to work together to curb climate change. “The future needs France, Europe, and China,” Macron is quoted as saying. As he uttered “Make our planet great again” in Chinese, the audience burst into applause.

Macron also urged Europe to take part in China’s Silk Road revival plan, a trillion-dollar infrastructure project called “One Belt, One Road.” But he warned that the plan should be carried out “within the framework of a balanced partnership” between China and Europe.

Macron is the first European leader to visit the country since the Chinese Communist Party held its twice-a-decade national congress, which saw president Xi Jinping further consolidate his power at the start of his second five-year term. 

Macron also met with Xi in Beijing on Monday evening, and offered him a horse of the elite French Republican Guard as a present.

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