Chinese President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday that the European Union should maintain its autonomy in foreign policy, in their first phone conversation since the formation of a defence alliance between the US, Britain and Australia.

The two leaders had spoken by phone in February and during a trilateral video summit with Angela Merkel in July. This call came after France was angered by the announcement last month of the Aukus alliance, which will see the US and Britain share nuclear submarine technology with Australia.

The deal also means Canberra will cancel its contract with France for conventionally powered submarines. France Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has described the pact as a betrayal.

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"Recent international events have once again shown that France is correct to advocate the strategic autonomy of the EU," CCTV quoted Xi as saying during his conversation with Macron.

The two leaders maintaining timely communications and coordination could "help steer the course of Sino-French relations and inject more stability into the world situation", Xi also said.

He suggested that China and Europe improve their understanding and mutual trust through continuous high-level communication and dialogue, reduce misunderstandings and misjudgment, properly manage differences, and strengthen political leadership in China-EU relations.

The China-EU relationship has been tense over such issues as human rights in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, and most recently because of several EU member states' interactions with Taiwan, and the European Union has delayed ratification of the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. But Beijing has emphasised that the EU must uphold its autonomy since it faces a strategic competition from the US, which is trying to rally traditional allies to its side.

Macron told Xi that France hoped the investment deal would soon be approved, according to CCTV.

Xi outlined potential areas of cooperation with France, including civilian nuclear power, aviation and aerospace, artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals and marine development. He also said China was willing to work with France on biodiversity, the environment, global development and in Africa.

The French president said France was committed to promoting the development of European-Chinese relations and to managing and resolving differences through dialogue at all levels. He named the fields of trade and economics, climate change and biodiversity as where Europe and China should cooperate, the report said.

"France ... hopes to strengthen coordination with China in the G20 Leaders' Summit in Italy and the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow," Macron told Xi.

The Chinese leader will not be attending either gathering in person, Bloomberg reported, and will participate virtually.

Macron and Xi also expressed support for the other's hosting of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The European parliament has passed a resolution calling on diplomatic officials to boycott the Beijing Games.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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