BEIJING — Chinese leader Xi Jinping accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron to Chengdu on Friday, a rare gesture seemingly reserved for the head of Europe’s second-largest economy that highlights Beijing’s focus on Paris in its ties with the European Union .

Even when U.S. President Donald Trump made a landmark visit to China early during his first term in 2017, and Xi lavished him with a private dinner within Beijing’s Forbidden City, the trip was confined to the Chinese capital.

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But despite the apparent bonhomie between Xi and Macron, the French president’s visit so far has resulted in little beyond bolstering Beijing’s diplomatic credentials, as world leaders turn to China seeking econom

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