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Horse trading: Macron woos Chinese president with equestrian gift

In a response to panda power, French President Emmanuel Macron is betting on equine diplomacy during his first state visit to China -- presenting his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping with a horse as a gift.

Published: 8 January 2018 12:03 CET
Horse trading: Macron woos Chinese president with equestrian gift
French Republican Guards. Photo: AFP

The animal, a retired Republican Guard horse named Vesuve de Brekka, is in quarantine. But Macron will show a photo of it to Xi when they meet later Monday in Beijing.

The French presidential office said Xi had been “fascinated” by their equestrian skills when he was escorted by the guard during his visit to Paris in 2014.

“Wishing to have friendly ties with foreign heads of state, Emmanuel Macron wants to make more than a gift — a diplomatic gesture,” the presidency said.

The eight-year-old dark brown horse took part in its last presidential escort on November 11 on the Champs-Elysees. The horses are ridden by sword-wielding guards on formal occasions. 

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Macron begins China state visit at Silk Road gateway

Photo: AFP

Macron will also offer Xi a sabre engraved with the phrase “Mr. Emmanuel Macron – President of the French Republic – Beijing – January 2018”.

The gift is Macron's answer to China's panda diplomacy. And the French leader's name in Mandarin is rendered “Ma-ke-long”, or “the horse vanquishes the dragon”. 

The horse arrived in China on a special plane accompanied by the Republican Guard's chief veterinarian and a member of the unit on January 4, four days before Macron.

He landed in the northern city of Xian early Monday.

The horse will remain in quarantine before joining Xi's presidential stable.  

“We appreciate and express our thanks for this move,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing, adding that Macron's visit was of “great significance”.

“We believe this visit will further enhance the friendship between the two leaderships” and improve cooperation, Lu said.

CHINA

China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as ‘political farce’

China on Tuesday blasted a democracy conference in Copenhagen attended by Taiwan's president and a Hong Kong activist alongside Danish government officials this week, qualifying it a "political farce".

Published: 11 May 2021 13:30 CEST
China derides Copenhagen democracy meet as 'political farce'
Demonstrators gathered outside the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday. Photo: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit was held Monday and Tuesday in the Danish capital and organised by the Alliance of Democracies, an organisation targeted by Beijing sanctions in March and founded by former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

In addition to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod also participated in the forum by video link, which Beijing said violated “the one-China principle.”

“This summit is a political farce,” the Chinese embassy in Denmark wrote in a statement published on Tuesday. “Inviting those who advocate Taiwan and Hong Kong ‘independence’ to the meeting violates the one-China principle and interferes in China’s internal affairs,” it said.

“Some hypocritical western politicians are good at meddling in other countries’ internal affairs and creating divisions and confrontation in the name of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom’. They are bound to fail,” it added.

At the conference on Monday, Kofod said it was “deplorable” that Beijing had imposed sanctions on 10 European individuals and organisations in response to EU sanctions on Xinjiang officials over their actions against the Uyghur Muslim minority.

Like most countries, Denmark applies the one-China principle — under which Beijing bars other countries from having simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taipei — though it does maintain relations with Taiwan.

Cut off politically from the rest of China since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the territory is self-governing but is not recognised by
the United Nations.

Beijing considers Taiwan a rebel province that will one day return under its control, by force if necessary.

China’s sabre-rattling has increased considerably over the past year, with fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers breaching Taiwan’s air defence zone on a near-daily basis.

“Our government is fully aware of the threats to regional security, and is actively enhancing our national defence capabilities to protect our
democracy,” Tsai told the conference in a video address on Monday. US President Joe Biden is expected to present his China strategy soon, as
calls mount for him to publicly commit to defending Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack.

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