US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the need to better cooperate to counter China’s economic practices, a topic that has sometimes caused friction between the two leaders.Macron hosted Biden on Saturday in Paris for a state visit, where they discussed steps the US and Europe could take to make their economies more resilient against Chinese imports.“We voiced the same concerns about China’s potentially unfair practices, which result in the creation of overcapacity, a subject of such importance to the global economy that we need to act in a coordinated manner,” Macron told reporters.Biden did not raise the topic during a press availability with Macron. But while chatting earlier under an umbrella in a courtyard of the Elysee Palace, Biden told Macron the US and Europe ought to “coordinate together” on domestic investments.
18:59Why the EU, US are concerned about China’s overcapacityWhy the EU, US are concerned about China’s overcapacityReporters heard Biden tell Macron about his last discussion with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who Biden said had objected to US tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles. Biden said he defended the import duties during the conversation.Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act has irked European leaders, including Macron, who worry that the billions of dollars in subsidies it authorised to make the US clean-energy sector more competitive against China’s could disadvantage European firms. Biden has touted the measure as the largest-ever US investment in fighting climate change.“We’re working together to accelerate the transition to net zero. It is the existential threat to humanity,” the US president said on Saturday, referring to global warming.Biden travelled to France to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which paved the way for the Allies’ defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.The US president delivered a pair of speeches about the need to defend democracy against new threats, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the rise of isolationism championed by Republican Donald Trump.On Saturday, Macron told reporters the two countries will work harder to prevent a regional escalation from Israel’s war with militant group Hamas in Gaza and focus on calming tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.Both leaders welcomed the rescue by Israeli forces of four hostages held by Hamas since October. “We won’t stop working until all the hostages come home and a ceasefire is reached,” Biden said.The US president has been a staunch supporter of Israel, which is pursuing Hamas after it attacked the country in October.But tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths have soured Biden’s left-leaning political base on Israel, hurting him as he runs against Trump for re-election in November.Additional reporting by Reuters
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