Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have pledged deeper cooperation on global issues, as the two leaders met ahead of France’s hosting of the Group of Seven (G7) summit next year.

Xi hosted Macron on Friday in the southwestern city of Chengdu, state media said, in a rare instance of the head of the world’s second-largest economy accompanying a guest beyond the capital, Beijing.

As Macron wrapped up his three-day visit to China, he and his wife, Brigitte, met the Chinese presidential couple for lunch in a more relaxed setting compared with the previous day.

Macron began his day in Chengdu on Friday by surprising fellow joggers in the city’s Jincheng Lake Park, videos circulating on Chinese social media showed, before joining Xi at the Dujiangyan dam,

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