French President Emmanuel Macron plans to visit China in early 2023. French ambassador to China Laurent Bili said this on Monday, Nov. 21, in an interview with China's Global Times newspaper.

President Macron has already visited China twice since taking office and intends to visit China early next year, he said.

The diplomat added that Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping maintain regular contacts. According to him, they have spoken more than 10 times in the three years since the beginning of the pandemic. In particular, they have discussed global issues such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Ukrainian crisis, the fight against climate change and food security. He noted that face-to-face meetings are the key to successful and meaningful cooperation between the countries.

The recent meeting between President Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bali was important to discuss several issues of mutual interest and, if necessary, problems on which differences persist, Laurent noted.

The last face-to-face meeting between Macron and Xi Jinping took place on November 15 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.