Macron thanks China for warm welcome during state visit

BEIJING -- French President Emmanuel Macron expressed gratitude for the hospitality he received during his three-day state visit to China, writing "Thank you China for your warm welcome!" in both Chinese and English on his social media accounts on Saturday.

In his post, the French president shared a video highlighting moments from the trip, ranging from the welcome ceremony and official meetings to interactions with students and local residents, as well as a ping-pong match he played with French and Chinese athletes.

In another X post published on Friday, he thanked China for this "inspiring visit and this warm, friendly welcome," highlighting the "powerful moment" spent in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Macron praised Dujiangyan in Sichuan's capital city Chengdu as a "two-thousand-year-old marvel that tames water and irrigates Sichuan." He said the ancient irrigation project embodies the same "harmony between human ingenuity and nature" and the "care for the mountains and water that bring life" as found in southwestern France's Hautes-Pyrenees Department.

Macron concluded his fourth state visit to China on Friday, after stops in both Beijing and Chengdu.