On this first day, a reception will be held in Paris at Les Invalides, where the remains of Emperor Napoleon are located and where state tributes are paid, according to the French presidency. In addition to bilateral talks at the Élysée Palace and the meeting that will bring together the presidents and the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, Sino-French economic meetings are planned at the Théâtre Marigny (Paris). The two leaders and their first ladies will, a day later, visit the emblematic Tourmalet, in the Pyrenees, at a time when 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries are being marked, added Emmanuel Macron's office. The two-day trip comes a year after Macron's visit to Beijing and Guangzhou in 2023, in a context of slight rapprochement between China and the European Union, although there are still tensions in the areas of trade, the economy and respect for human rights. International news agencies predict that Xi will express dissatisfaction with European investigations into Chinese trade practices and maintain a position on Russia. China claims neutrality in the conflict in Ukraine, but Xi and Putin said their governments had a "limitless friendship" before Moscow's attack in February 2022. For Paris, the main issue should be the war in Ukraine, and since "China is one of Russia's main partners", Emmanuel Macron intends to "encourage it to use its influence over Moscow to change Russia's calculations and contribute to the resolution of this conflict", according to the Élysée Palace. Last year, in China, Macron appealed to his counterpart to "bring Russia to its senses" and shortly after the Chinese President telephoned his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time since the start of the conflict in February 2022. However, the diplomatic progress expected by Paris did not materialise. After France, Xi will visit Hungary and Serbia, the European countries closest to China and also to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read also: Pro-Tibet protesters in Paris against Xi's visit. The images (Portuguese version)