President Xi Jinping has arrived in France for his big trip to Europe – it’s been five years since his last visit and EU-Chinese relations have hit a rocky road.

There’s also been the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and now a global trade battle is brewing.

For President Xi, this European tour is as much about trying to get the relationship on an even keel as projecting Chinese power to the world.

France is first on the red carpet itinerary.

Xi Jinping is meeting President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Russia will be a difficult issue for them all.

Europe and the US say China is sending “dual-use” items like semiconductors and machine tools to Russia, enabling it to continue to build weapons and wage war in Ukraine.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has put China on notice, saying if it does not “address the problem” the US will. China says it is free to trade with any country it chooses.

Few people therefore expect any great breakthroughs on the Ukraine war from the Chinese president’s Euro tour.

On Tuesday, Mr Macron plans to take Xi to the Pyrenees, but a brewing trade war will also loom large over any mountain walks.

At the centre is China’s insatiable appetite for manufacturing electric vehicles.

Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Its EV industry has caught up and overtaken the West.

It produces them at a scale and price that Europe’s big car producing countries, such as France and Germany, can’t compete with.

Ursula von der Leyen has accused China of “over-capacity”, sending EVs, batteries and solar panels to Europe at cut-throat prices.

China says the world needs its green energy technology and has warned Europe against “protectionism” and imposing tariffs on its products. There are tough talks ahead.

After France, President Xi is heading to Serbia and Hungary – both of which have a warm relationship with China and Russia.

Related posts:

Tech firm behind internet outage explains issue that took down major websites worldwide ‘It just doesn’t sit right’: Tennis star pulls out of Olympics after fans banned from attending At least 50 killed in fatal fire at Bangladesh food and drink factory Drones may have caused Abu Dhabi oil tanker explosions, police say, as Houthis claim attack Far-right mass killer Anders Breivik trying for parole after 10 years in jail Climate change and intensive agriculture have halved number of insects in worst-hit areas Liz Truss to tell western Balkans ‘we can’t take foot off accelerator’ over Ukraine war Putin signs decree tightening security on key bridge from Russia to Crimea after explosion Hundreds evacuated as huge fire breaks out at shopping centre France orders third vaccines for ducks to try and halt bird flu outbreak Can you guess Wikipedia’s most-viewed articles of 2023? Ex-politician seen beating his wife to death in CCTV footage – sparking outrage in Kazakhstan