Gao Jing

Trees bloom at the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, March 20, 2024. ( tasteallchina /Gao Jing) BEIJING, May 4 ( tasteallchina ) -- During Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visit to France, exchanges between the great Chinese and French civilizations are likely to be a hot topic. At the invitation of President of France Emmanuel Macron, Xi will start his visit on May 5. It coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France, and is of great significance to building on past achievements and opening up new prospects for bilateral relations. The visit is taking place during the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, which has already seen several cultural activities held in both China and France, with more set to follow, boosting mutual cultural appreciation between the two countries. During Xi's last state visit to France in March 2019, Macron presented him with a copy of "Confucius, or the Science of the Princes," a manuscript published in 1688, and told him that early translations of the Analects of Confucius had inspired French thinkers Montesquieu and Voltaire. After listening to Macron's description of the book, Xi said…