WATCH: Macron says ‘Make our planet great again’ in Mandarin

During his big visit to China this week, French President Emmanuel Macron has managed to charm Chinese netizens by trying his darndest to learn a bit of their language.

In a behind-the-scenes video posted to Macron’s Twitter account yesterday, the French president is seen being coached by a translator in preparation for a keynote speech at a conference in Xi’an on how to say in Chinese: “Make our planet great again” — a catchphrase that he has adopted in reference to fighting global climate change, and as a not-so-subtle jab at US President Donald Trump’s MAGA slogan.

As he gamely struggles to say the sentence, “Ràng dìqiú zàicì wěidà” (让地球再次伟大), Macron, who speaks fluent English, asks the translator about when he should take a breath and discovers that the Chinese word “ràng” sounds much like the French name “Jean.”

The video of Macron’s language lesson has gone viral on Chinese social media with netizens generally applauding the French president for making an effort at learning a bit of Mandarin. However, others were more interested in how much makeup the handsome Macron wears.

Net users also praised the Chinese-French translator for his diligence and fluency. Meanwhile, China Daily wrote on its Weibo account: “How hard is Chinese? The interpreter almost collapsed teaching Macron this sentence.”

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=f05316chy4f&width=500&height=375&auto=0

Along with learning a bit of Mandarin and giving Xi Jinping a real live horse, Macron found some time to travel with his wife, seeing the sights in Xi’an and Beijing.

[Images via NetEase / NetEase]

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