Macron’s China Visit Underscores Economic Tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the Global forum on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Humanity (GFAIH) at the Institut de France in Paris on Oct. 30, 2019. Macron is visiting China amid a push for Beijing to open its markets, despite festering trade disputes and weakened consumer spending. Ludovic Marin/Pool via AP

BEIJING—With major economies locked in disputes over trade, France’s president started a visit to China by announcing that the EU had struck a deal with the country to better protect agricultural products such as wine and cheese from counterfeiting.

Emmanuel Macron’s visit is timed to ease some of the tensions that are stifling global commerce, with the European Union asking China to open its markets further and the United States and China in a bitter fight over tariffs.