PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (May 6) thanked Chinese leader Xi Jinping for not imposing “provisional” customs duties on French cognac amid an ongoing probe, and presented him with bottles of the expensive drink.
In early January, China said it had launched an anti-dumping investigation into brandy imported from the European Union, in a move seen as targeting France.
“I would also like to thank the president for his openness regarding the provisional measures on French cognac and his wish not to see them applied”, Macron told reporters alongside Xi following talks in Paris.
According to a French diplomatic source, China has indicated that there will be no immediate customs duties on cognac exported to China pending the outcome of the investigation.
Xi is on a two-day state visit to France, his first trip to Europe since 2019. During the visit, Xi received a bottle of Hennessy X.O. and a bottle of Remy Martin Louis XIII, according to a list of gifts seen by AFP.
In addition to the spirits, Macron also presented Xi with works by French novelist Victor Hugo, as well as the first Franco-Chinese dictionary, published in 1742, and a vase from a glassworks in Amboise.
