French President Emmanuel Macron's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday took place after European leaders called for forming closer ties with China during visits to Beijing.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited China in recent months. And in Thursday's meeting, Mr Macron was not alone: he was accompanied by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Here are the key takeaways from this week's meetings.
European Commission attendance
China is the European Union's largest trading partner but in recent months, the relationship has been deteriorating, causing a trade deficit for the EU of €395.7 billion last year up from €250.3 billion the year before, according to Eurostat.
In a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, Ms von der Leyen said EU-China relations have become “more complex” in recent years.
She said her meeting with Mr Xi was to discuss how to “rebalance” trade between the EU and China.
One of the other topics of discussion with the Chinese President included French businesses' access to the Chinese market, particularly in the aeronautical, food and finance sectors.
More than 50 businessmen joined Mr Macron on his trip, including leaders from Airbus, Electricite de France (EDF) and water, waste and energy management service company Veolia.
“Several important contracts will be signed,” Mr Macron said on Thursday.
Airbus deal
After what the Elysee Palace said was a “frank and constructive” discussion between the two leaders, Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury announced the opening of a second final assembly line in Tianjin, doubling the company's production capacity in China.
“It makes a lot of sense for us, as the Chinese market keeps growing, to be serving local for the Chinese airlines, and probably some other customers in the region,” Mr Faury said.
The assembly line for the A320 will begin operations in 2025, Mr Faury said.
Airbus also plans to increase the production capacity for its first production site, which opened in 2008 and currently puts out four A320s a month.
Airbus also agreed to sell more aircraft to China during the state visit, although the exact number is unknown.
EDF
French state utility EDF signed a deal renewing its relationship with Chinese utility CGN, both of which operate nuclear plants.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi and the government of Pingshan District in China's Shenzhen signed a letter of intent for co-operation on vaccines to “accelerate the introduction of innovative vaccines to the Chinese market”, state news agency Xinhua reported.
“It's a very important partnership for us because Sanofi's growth in China, especially in vaccines, owes so much to the strong investment of the Pingshan District and Shenzhen,” Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president of Sanofi, said during a trip to Shenzhen.
Ukraine crisis
On Thursday, Mr Xi also expressed a “willingness” to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ms von der Leyen said, calling his words “positive”.
Mr Zelenskyy had been asking to speak to Mr Xi as recently as last month, when the Chinese leader visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Mr Xi said a conversation could happen when the “conditions and time are right”, Ms von der Leyen said.
“The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to [international] stability,” Mr Macron told his Chinese counterpart on Thursday at the start of their bilateral meeting.
“I know I can count on you to bring Russia back to its senses and everyone back to the negotiating table.”
Agencies contributed to this report
RESULT
Liverpool 4 Southampton 0
Jota (2', 32')
Thiago (37')
Van Dijk (52')
Man of the match: Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Credits
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions and Eros Now
Director: Mudassar Aziz
Cast: Sonakshi Sinha, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jassi Gill, Piyush Mishra, Diana Penty, Aparshakti Khurrana
Star rating: 2.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
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ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
