French President Emmanuel Macron greets and shakes hands with students and faculty members of Sichuan University outside the event venue during his visit on December 5, 2025 in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Photo: VCG

French President Emmanuel Macron concluded his three-day state visit to China on Friday, with the enthusiastic welcome he received at Sichuan University in Southwest China's Sichuan Province quickly becoming a trending topic on Chinese social media. 

Videos circulating online show the French president jogging in small steps to greet students while also being greeted with the kind of excitement similarly reserved for idols and stars.

When answering students' questions, Macron said the only regret of this trip was that time always seemed too short. Shortly after his visit in the Sichuan University, Macron met with the French team athletes participating in the 2025 ITTF Mixed Team World Cup in Chengdu, and interacted with Wang Liqin, president of Chinese Table Tennis Association, and Chinese table tennis athletes, including Wang Chuqin, Wang Manyu, Sun Yingsha, and Lin Shidong, according to a report by China News Service. 

Across Chinese social media platforms, videos and comments underscore the enthusiastic reception Macron enjoyed during his state visit. On lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, posts under the #Macron tag have accumulated more than 130 million views and 336,000 discussions. On Sina Weibo, the tag has reached 400 million views, while "#Macron visits Sichuan University" has drawn nearly 47 million views. One viral video described Macron as being greeted "like a rock star."

A video on Xiaohongshu showing Macron shaking hands with Sichuan University students has garnered 78,000 likes. In the clip, Macron smiles broadly as students greet him, with one shouting "welcome to China." A highly liked comment said Macron showed a good attitude "when he visits China," and that "everyone received fan service," likening him to visiting idols known for their affection toward fans. Another meme-style comment joked that Macron would feel "unbearably sad" upon returning to France after such a reception.

Another widely shared Xiaohongshu post showed being warmly welcomed at Sichuan University, with the caption, "French people seem to truly enjoy being surrounded by people." One humorous comment said both the videographer and Macron "now have satisfying Moments posts." Another quipped that after "leaving his original family (France), he realized the outside world does not rain eggs," referring to the criticism he often faces at home compared with his popularity in China.

A video posted by Huanqiu.com on Xiaohongshu, citing footage from French media outlet Brut., shows Macron jogging in small steps to greet Sichuan University students. The clip reached more than 100,000 likes, the platform's displayed upper limit. One comment predicted that upon returning to France, Macron would say he had "caught Chengdu syndrome," a Chinese internet meme describing the longing one feels after leaving a beloved place.

Some Western media outlets also took note of the enthusiastic reception Macron received in China. Reuters reported on Friday that "the French president will take the publicity win from receiving a rock-star welcome from students at Sichuan University, who crowded around him before a speech." French newspaper Le Monde wrote that "French President Emmanuel Macron made his way through crowds of young fans screaming in excitement at a university in southern China on Friday, December 5, receiving a greeting more reminiscent of a rock star than a politician." Outlets including France 24 and AFP also covered scenes from his campus visits.

Macron himself appeared impressed by the experience. On X, he posted two videos of his speech at Sichuan University, writing: "Aux étudiants rencontrés à l'Université de Sichuan je dis: ne cédez pas aux sirènes de la division." (To the students I met at Sichuan University, I say: do not give in to the sirens of division) and "Un mot: ensemble." (One word: together.)

The same video clip from Brut. also drew attention on X, where media outlets and users reposted and commented on it. A user @juanbuis wrote, "I can't stop watching this video of the french president full-on sprinting to his fans in china. He's smiling like he genuinely thinks he's taylor swift on world tour." 

"Macron showers in a crowd of Chinese students … for a moment he feels like he has more than 11% approval rating," wrote @MyLordBebo who also shared footage of Macron at Sichuan University.

"As president, Macron represents not only the French government but also the French people and French society. Therefore, his visits to more Chinese cities signal a desire by France to gain a deeper understanding of China," Cui Hongjian, a professor at the Academy of Regional and Global Governance at Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times.

These more personalized and informal interactions help strengthen the sense of closeness, deepen understanding of each other's ideas, reasoning, and policy intentions, and promote greater engagement , all of which have a highly positive impact on the development of bilateral relations, Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times.