PARIS: Chinese President Xi Jinping was welcomed by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal at Paris Orly Airport as he began his third country visit after previous visits in 2014 and 2019.
The visit coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, giving it special significance as an important opportunity to build on past achievements and focus on the future of bilateral relations.
In the 60 years since then, bilateral relations have always been aware of China’s relationship with the West, which has set an example for countries with different social systems to live peacefully and cooperate, Xi said in a statement on Sunday. come here
According to China, China is willing to strengthen traditional friendship, develop political mutual trust, build strategic cooperation and deepen exchanges and cooperation with France in various fields through visits.
According to data released by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, French direct investment in China in the first two months of this year increased by 585.8 percent last year.
China and France have upheld true multilateralism through challenges and difficulties and maintain the correct direction of free trade and economic globalization, greatly enhancing the strength and vitality of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, said Xi. The fifth meeting of the China-France Business Council will be held in April 2023 in Beijing.
According to the 2023 survey of French companies in China by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, many member companies plan to invest in China.
“I think the importance of the Chinese market has not changed,” Barbara Frei, executive vice president of Schneider Electric, told Xinhua. He expressed confidence in China’s position as a more advanced economy and the largest market for industrial automation, and emphasized China’s role as an “innovation engine”.
These words were echoed by Patrick Charignon, vice president of the Asia-Pacific region of EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of EDF, the leading French electric utility company.
Based on mutual benefit and support, China-France economic and trade cooperation continues to expand, making the “pie” of cooperation bigger. Bilateral trade between China and France will reach 78.9 billion US dollars in 2023.
China is now France’s largest trading partner in Asia, and France is China’s third largest trading partner in the European Union (EU).
In a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in April last year, Xi Macron said that China is willing to work with France to build a “French farm to Chinese dinner table” rapid coordination mechanism of the whole chain. Today, this mechanism is a clear example of practical cooperation between China and France.
“Thanks to our certification and traceability system, we produce high-quality beef,” Maxens Bigard, president of INTERBEV, the French translator of the livestock and meat association, told Xinhua.
