On July 5, Chinese President Xi Jinping called German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in a bid to improve the tense EU-China relationship. This is the first conversation between Xi and the two leaders since the EU parliament put the EU-China Investment Agreement (CAI) in deep freeze in late May. During the call, the three leaders all expressed support for the CAI to be approved soon. Xinhua quoted Xi Jinping as saying “[The] world more than ever needs mutual respect and close collaboration, rather than suspicion, antagonism or zero-sum game[s].” Hinting that Europe should follow a policy independent of the US, he said “We hope the European side can play a more positive role in global affairs [and] genuinely demonstrate strategic independence.”