French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at a rally after the first round of French presidential election in Paris, France, on April 10, 2022. Photo:Xinhua

French President Emmanuel Macron is planning to visit China in the new year, the South China Morning Post reported on Friday. Citing several sources familiar with the matter, the report said Macron's trusted diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne travelled this week to Beijing with a team of aides to lay the groundwork for a trip by the French leader.

Diplomatic Adviser to the French President Emmanuel Bonne will be in China from December 13 to 14. He will hold the China-France Strategic Dialogue with Member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Thursday.

During the upcoming trip by Bonne to China, Wang will hold the China-France Strategic Dialogue with him for strategic communication on implementing the common understandings between the two presidents and deepening bilateral cooperation in various fields. The two sides will also have in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of mutual interest, Mao told a routine press conference on Thursday.

According to the South China Morning Post, Bonne's visit was timed to coincide with Macron's return this week from Poland. There, Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk discussed plans to put troops from European Union member states in Ukraine to monitor a future ceasefire.

European leaders have long sought China's help to end the war, per the report.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on December 6 that China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent. "We believe that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way to resolve the crisis. The international community needs to create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue between the two parties. Only when all major countries play a positive role, can this conflict see an early prospect of ceasefire," Lin said.

Global Times