Chinese President Xi Jinping has pulled out all the stops to host his French counterpart Emanuel Macron. The pair met for casual dinner in the southern province of Guangdong on Friday, and their neckties were nowhere to be seen.

The two leaders held official talks on Thursday in Beijing. The next day, Xi accompanied Macron to the city of Guangzhou, where they relaxed in a garden and drank Chinese tea.

Xi rarely travels outside the capital with other foreign leaders, or invites them to dinner for two straight days.

Observers say he could be trying to get closer to France in light of Beijing's long-running tensions with Washington.

China and France call for a bilateral summit every year in a joint statement released on Friday.

It also says both countries support the effort to restore peace in Ukraine based on international law and the principles of the UN Charter.