When French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to China in early December for his fourth state visit, the itinerary began with the expected formalities. There was a red carpet reception at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and high-level talks with President Xi Jinping on trade, technology and Ukraine.
But the defining image of this diplomatic trip did not take place in the capital. Rather, it occurred more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away in Chengdu, Sichuan province. There, Xi hosted Macron for a rare instance of “no-tie diplomacy,” a term used by Chinese media to describe a relaxed and informal style of statecraft.
