BEIJING: China President Xi Jinping congratulated his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron over his re-election on Monday, adding to world leaders’ well-wishes after the defeat of far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the polls.

Xi proposes ‘global security initiative’

Macron is the first French president in two decades to win a second term, and is set to begin efforts to unite a deeply divided nation after a battle that saw the far right come its closest yet to taking power.