Beijing and Paris say they want to stay the course, despite the defection of their American counterpart. Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed Wednesday, November 6 in Beijing their "strong support" to the Paris climate agreement, two days after the formalization of withdrawal from the United States.

The two leaders reaffirm "their strong support for the Paris agreement that they consider an irreversible process and a compass for a strong action on the climate", according to a joint statement issued after an interview on the last day Emmanuel Macron's visit to China.

In this "Beijing Call for Conservation of Biodiversity and Climate Change", the two presidents also stress "their strong commitment to improving international cooperation on climate change to ensure full implementation of the Paris Agreement and effective".

Consternation

China and France have expressed their consternation after the announcement on Monday of the United States' officialization of Donald Trump's intention to withdraw from the Paris agreement, as the US president announced in November. 2017.

Without naming the United States, Emmanuel Macron "deplored" the choice made by "some other" countries to withdraw from the agreement. "But I want to see them as marginal choices," he said in a statement to the press alongside Xi Jinping.

"Because when China, the European Union, Russia, which ratified the Paris Agreement a few weeks ago, engage firmly, the isolated choice of this or that is not enough to change the course. It only leads to marginalization, "said the French president.

Agribusiness and nuclear on the table

China and France have concluded contracts for a total amount of $ 15 billion during Emmanuel Macron's visit, the Chinese presidency announced after an interview between the French head of state and his Chinese counterpart. An agreement on the export approval in China of twenty French agri-food companies (poultry, beef and pork, charcuterie) has been signed.

The two powers have also called for the signing, by January 31, 2020, of a final agreement on the construction in China of a used nuclear fuel treatment plant, a mega-contract highly anticipated by the French giant Orano .

With AFP and Reuters