French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, June 26, 2019. Koji Sasahara/Pool via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called for further synergies and alliances to strengthen the Renault-Nissan partnership in a global market.

“The Renault-Nissan alliance is a jewel in the industry,” Macron told French expatriates in Tokyo.

“We created a giant which we must not only preserve but develop synergies and alliances to strengthen it in the face of international competition.”

His comments appeared to leave open the possibility both of a deeper integration of the 20-year-old Renault-Nissan alliance, which has been shaken by the scandal over its former chief Carlos Ghosn, and tie-ups with other manufacturers.

Last month, Renault and Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced they were in merger talks. But the discussions were called off after FCA grew frustrated with the role the French state was playing, especially its need to secure agreement from Nissan over how to move the merger forward.

Since the break-off of the FCA talks, Renault executives have been looking to rebuild ties with Nissan, which is keen to reduce the influence the French state has in the alliance via its 15% stake in Renault.

Renault owns 43% of the Japanese automaker, which in turn holds a 15%, non-voting stake in its partner.

Nissan on Tuesday threw cold water on hopes for a quick fix to strained relations with France’s Renault SA, saying inequality between the partners could unravel their two-decade-old automaking alliance.