French President Emmanuel Macron announced that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will accompany him on his trip to China in early April.

- I invited President Von der Leyen to accompany me part of the way to present a unified (European) position to Beijing, he said at a press conference after the European summit in Brussels.

Macron, as announced by the Elysee Palace, will be on a state visit to China from April 5 to 8. He announced that he would use the visit "to work" with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping "to restore peace" in Ukraine. The French presidency notes that Macron is "committed to maintaining a permanent and high-quality dialogue with China."

An upcoming visit in early April was announced at the end of February, but no specific dates were given.

Paris wants to persuade Beijing to use its influence on Moscow, to persuade it to agree to negotiations with Kiev.

"Macron will talk with Xi about international crises in the Middle East and Africa, tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, strategic and economic issues, as well as cooperation to deal with the main world challenges," the Elysée Palace said.

Macron previously announced he would visit China in early April and called on Beijing to "help put pressure on Russia" to end the war in Ukraine.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit China next week.