In the coming week, Macron and von der Leyen wrap up their visit to Beijing.

The Good Friday Agreement turns 25 and Iran holds this National Nuclear Technology Day.

It's April 6, 2023 and time for the world next week. I'm Carl Ann Robbins. Bob McMahon is off today, so we're lucky to be joined by

Matthias Mateus Matez, a senior fellow for Europe at CFR, an associate professor of international

political economy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in DC.

Matthias has of course been on before, so welcome back.

Thank you, Carla. It's a pleasure to be back.

Let's start with Europe-China relations.

Tomorrow, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

will finish their visit to Beijing, China.

Although they were joined by French business leaders to talk trade,

the focus has mainly been on the issue of Ukraine and China's close relationship with Russia. So what outcomes can we expect from

this visit, you think? So, Matias, as you know, Macron is just the latest in a line of European

leaders to make this pilgrimage in recent months. Germany's Olive Schultz met with Xi in November,

and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was there just last week. And as you said,

for Macron, this visit is about both trade and Ukraine. And it's also a lot about Macron, I suspect.

You know, he really could use some different visuals after weeks of protests and strikes at

home against his pension reform. It's probably a quite great relief for him to be out of Paris right now.

So at the start of their first meetings today Thursday, Macron told China's leader Xi Jinping

that he expected him to, quote, bring Russia back to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table on Ukraine.

So here's the puzzle.

Does he really believe that she's serious about negotiating a legitimate peace in Ukraine?

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