French President Emmanuel Macron speaks at Sichuan University during a meeting with students in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province on December 5, 2025. Photo:AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday posted a video on his official X account summarizing the highlights of his three-day state visit to China, and pinned it to the top of his profile. The footage was captioned in both Chinese and English: "Thank you China for your warm welcome!" President Macron expressed his gratitude for the warmth and hospitality he received from China and the Chinese people.
The video includes a sequence of memorable stops in both Beijing and Chengdu. Notably, the French president's visit to Sichuan University was placed immediately after a red-carpet walk, giving it strong prominence in the overall narrative. Throughout the footage, his interactions with students at the university appear several times. The warm applause and visible enthusiasm of the Chinese public appear to have resonated with Macron, reinforcing the message of the hospitality he received from the Chinese people, which he conveyed in his post. 

French President Emmanuel Macron's Saturday post is captioned in both Chinese and English: "Thank you China for your warm welcome!" Photo: Screenshot from President Macron's official X account

During Macron's visit, across Chinese social media platforms, videos and comments underscored 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."

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.

Global Times