Beijing presses Paris to respect one-China principle in talks
China's foreign affairs commission director Wang Yi has urged France to honour the one-China principle in talks with French presidential adviser Emmanuel Bonne. The meeting takes place a week before the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing.
China's foreign ministry said Wang Yi raised 'core interests' on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang and called for a strategic partnership 'free from external interference'. Bonne for his part urged Beijing to bring its EU exports in line with the bloc's carbon border adjustment mechanism.
The two officials discussed Macron's planned trip to Shanghai, an extension of Airbus's second China assembly line and a nuclear-fuel reprocessing protocol. Beijing signalled openness to French capital in Hong Kong-dollar quotas and free-trade zone investments.
The meeting unfolded a week ahead of Trump's visit to Beijing on 16 May. The European Union is meanwhile weighing an extension of countervailing measures on Chinese electric vehicles, with a vote due in Brussels by 22 May.
More from Asia
Pakistan secures fresh 1.32-billion-dollar IMF tranche
Pakistan has secured a 1.32-billion-dollar second tranche under its existing Extended Fund Facility with the IMF. The disbursement follows Islamabad meeting commitments to tighten the budget envelope while battling double-digit inflation triggered by the Iran war.
Explosion at China fireworks factory kills 26 people
An explosion at a fireworks factory in Hunan province, China, killed 26 people and injured 61, according to state media reports.
China scraps tariffs for all but one African nation
China announced it has scrapped tariffs for almost all African nations. This move boosts China's soft power in African states, but may also deepen economic inequalities.