Philippe in China to transform the testing of Macron

PARIS (Reuters) – Edouard Philippe started Friday a four-day trip to China, where the French Prime minister will attempt to implement the commitments made during the visit of Emmanuel Macron in January, even if contracts for the sale of Airbus (PA:AIR) may be still expect.

“The president has announced that he would run every year in China, which is a necessity given the stakes. This visit is a milestone in six months to make progress,” says one at Matignon.

In commercial term, uncertainty remains as to the finalization of major contracts, while China, the seventh client of France, also represents one-third of its global trade deficit.

Six months after the words of Emmanuel Macron, saying that an order by the Beijing 184 Airbus A320 would “soon be completed”, the signing of the agreement is cash in the billion euros is still pending. and

A diplomatic source in French reminds us that this kind of contract is negotiated until the last minute, between industrial.

Sources have also referred to the poor perception by the Chinese of the presidential intervention referring to a public contract, to which is added a cooling of diplomatic from the beginning of the year, born about emissaries of european to the delicate relations of China with Japan.

On Tuesday, Reuters has learned from industry sources that China Eastern had opened discussions with a view to buy 150 single aisle aircraft such as the Airbus A320 or the 737 for Boeing (NYSE:BA).

China represents about half of the orders of the company’s franco-German.

SMES AND START-UPS

In terms of energy, the memorandum of agreement signed in January by Orano (ex-Areva) and China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC) to the construction of a treatment plant-recycling of nuclear fuel remains to be realized.

The chapter agri-food, Paris is still waiting for the emergence of effective embargo on chinese the French beef, decided in march 2017, after 17 years of closure.

“Given the stakes, we will not slacken the pressure so that the opening could take place as soon as possible,” said a French diplomat.

According to experts, months or even years can elapse between the lifting of the embargo and the actual export of beef to China (who was only 14 countries last April), under strict procedures.

Edouard Philippe, who visited a dozen times in China before gaining access to the prime minister’s office, will begin his / her journey to Shenzhen, where he will visit a string of assembly of the DS7 on a site of PSA (PA:PEUP), one of the 2,000 French companies present in China.

Saturday in Shanghai, it déjeunera with investors from large groups to private chinese and will visit the first-line automatic metro of China, operated by the joint venture formed by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group and the French company Keolis.

The political sequence will be held Sunday and Monday in Beijing, where Edouard Philippe will meet with president Xi Jinping at the Great hall of the people.

Half-a-dozen ministers, including the head of the diplomacy Jean-Yves Le Drian and the minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet, accompany the head of the government.

Fifty heads of companies, including many SMES and start-ups, are also on the trip.

(Elizabeth Pineau, with Tim Hepher and Sybille de la Hamaide, edited by Yves Clarisse)