BEIJING, December 5, 2025 – As French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his three-day state visit to China on Friday, President Xi Jinping announced a $100 million humanitarian aid package for Palestine, underscoring Beijing's commitment to easing the Gaza crisis while reinforcing bilateral ties with Paris on thorny global issues like Ukraine and trade imbalances. The pledge, made during Thursday's high-level talks in Beijing, comes amid a fragile post-ceasefire landscape in Gaza, where over 1.9 million displaced Palestinians grapple with famine risks and reconstruction costs estimated at $50 billion by the United Nations. Xi framed the aid as a step toward a "comprehensive, just, and lasting solution" to the Palestinian question, aligning with France's advocacy for a two-state outcome and signaling China's growing diplomatic heft in the Middle East.
"China will provide $100 million of assistance to Palestine to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and support its recovery and reconstruction," Xi stated during a joint press conference with Macron at the Great Hall of the People, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout. The announcement, which elicited a letter of thanks from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, builds on Beijing's prior contributions—including $3 million in emergency supplies since October 2023—and positions China as a counterweight to Western donors amid U.S. aid cuts under the incoming Trump administration. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian elaborated Friday that the funds would target post-conflict rebuilding, such as water infrastructure and medical facilities, to "improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation and reduce the suffering of the Palestinian people." "China firmly supports the just cause of the Palestinian people in restoring their legitimate national rights and will continue working relentlessly with the international community for a full and lasting ceasefire in Gaza," Lin added during his daily briefing, reiterating Beijing's two-state solution stance.
The timing of Xi's pledge amplified the geopolitical undertones of Macron's visit—his fourth to China since 2017 and the first since April 2023—which blended ceremonial pomp with pragmatic diplomacy. Arriving Wednesday amid a red carpet welcome at Beijing's Forbidden City, Macron sought Beijing's leverage over Moscow to advance fragile Ukraine ceasefire talks, while pushing for trade concessions to narrow the EU's €400 billion ($470 billion) annual deficit with China. Xi, in response, decried a world "far from tranquil," with "complicated international political disputes and conflicts" raging from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, and pledged Sino-French collaboration on multilateralism.
On Ukraine, where Russian advances have displaced 6 million and killed over 40,000 civilians per UN estimates, Xi reiterated China's neutral broker role: "China supports all efforts conducive to peace and hopes that parties can reach, through dialogue and negotiation, a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement that is accepted by all parties concerned." He vowed a "constructive role" in Settlements but "firmly opposes any irresponsible attempt to shift blame or smear others"—a veiled rebuke to Western accusations of Beijing aiding Moscow's war machine via dual-use exports. Macron, fresh from Paris meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pressed for a "moratorium on strikes targeting critical infrastructure" and urged China to "refrain from providing Russia with any means to continue the war." Though Xi offered no firm commitments, the exchange highlighted France's G7 presidency ambitions in 2026 to rally Europe against "disintegration of the international order."
Economic agendas dominated Thursday's agenda, with the leaders co-chairing the seventh China-France Business Council, where deals worth €10 billion ($11.7 billion) were inked on aviation, agriculture, and green energy—though analysts noted scant breakthroughs on EU demands for market access to electric vehicles and cognac tariffs. Macron touted a "balanced relationship," warning of "unsustainable" imbalances that have hammered French luxury goods and Airbus sales, while Xi called for a "fair, conducive environment" for Chinese firms in Europe. Amid U.S. tariff threats under President-elect Trump, both sides eyed deeper ties: France as a bridge to the EU, China as a stabilizer for global supply chains.
The visit's capstone unfolded Friday in Chengdu, Sichuan province's teeming metropolis of 21 million, where Xi—breaking protocol by joining Macron beyond Beijing—hosted informal talks at the ancient Dujiangyan irrigation site, a UNESCO heritage marvel dating to 256 B.C. Macron, "very touched" by the gesture, surprised locals with a jog in Jincheng Lake Park before the duo's discussions, which touched on climate goals and panda diplomacy—Chengdu's base for the returned duo Yuan Zi and Huan Huan, loaned to France since 2012. First Lady Brigitte Macron visited the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, symbolizing soft-power exchanges amid hard-nosed geopolitics.
Broader context reveals the visit's stakes. Gaza's aid vacuum persists despite a November 2024 ceasefire, with UN reports citing 35,000 deaths and 90% infrastructure ruin, fueling calls for Arab-led reconstruction that China endorses. In Ukraine, stalled U.S.-brokered talks have Macron leveraging Paris-Beijing rapport, built on 60 years of ties since de Gaulle's 1964 recognition of China. Yet challenges loom: EU probes into Chinese subsidies irk Beijing, while Macron's "strategic autonomy" push clashes with Xi's multipolar vision.
As Macron departed Chengdu's airport, Xi's parting words echoed reciprocity: "China-France relations are a model for the world." The Gaza pledge, modest against the EU's €1.6 billion ($1.87 billion) commitment, nonetheless burnishes China's mediator credentials—evident in its 2023 Saudi-Iran deal—and bolsters Macron's narrative of Europe as a "third pole" in a fracturing order. With Trump's January inauguration looming, this "demanding dialogue" may prove a litmus test for transatlantic unity, as Beijing courts Paris to hedge against renewed U.S. protectionism. In a year of flux, Xi's aid olive branch—and Macron's deft balancing act—offer glimmers of collaborative potential amid gathering storms.
