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China and France pledged deeper cooperation on global issues like the war in Ukraine and trade, as France prepares to take on the presidency of the Group of Seven next year. French President Emmanuel Macron met with China's Xi Jinping on Thursday morning as part of a three-day state visit focusing on trade and diplomacy. France seeks help to end Ukraine war --------------------------------------- The French leader is seeking to involve Beijing in pressuring Russia toward a ceasefire with Ukraine after a recent burst of diplomacy around a U.S.-led peace plan. We are facing the risk of the disintegration of the international order that brought peace to the world for decades, and in this context, the dialogue between China and France is even more essential than ever, Macron said Thursday. I hope that China will join our call, our efforts to achieve, as soon as possible, at the very least a ceasefire in the form of a moratorium on strikes targeting critical infrastructure, he said.
President Donald Trump said Monday that he has accepted an invitation from Chinese leader Xi Jinping to visit Beijing in April and that he reciprocated by inviting Xi for a state visit to the US later next year. Trump made the announcement after he spoke with Xi by phone nearly a month after the two leaders met in person in South Korea, saying they discussed issues including Ukraine, fentanyl and purchases of American soybeans. "Our relationship with China is extremely strong!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Beijing, which announced the phone call first, said nothing about the state visits but noted that the two leaders discussed trade, Taiwan and Ukraine. Xi told Trump that Taiwan's return to mainland China is "an integral part of the postwar international order," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said a crucial issue to Beijing that Trump did not mention in his post. The omissions from each side signal that sticking points remain for the two superpowers even as they highlight ..