Foreign and Military Affairs

China, France pledge to strengthen ties

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-11-05 18:05

PARIS - China and France issued a joint statement on Thursday during the ongoing visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to France, pledging to strengthen comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The two countries decided to add new vitality to bilateral ties 13 years after the two countries established comprehensive strategic partnership, said the statement, issued after a meeting between Hu and his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday.

The two countries decided to "build new, mature and stable comprehensive strategic partnership based on mutual trust and mutual benefit and with a global perspective," it said.

The two sides pledged to boost bilateral relations and strengthen coordination in international affairs. They also pledged to double bilateral trade over the next five years, in sectors including nuclear energy, space and aviation, railway, culture and environment.

Bilateral relations

The two countries, both permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, agreed that at a time when the world is turning multipolar and globalized, the global governing system should be reformed profoundly.

Under such circumstances, the rapid development of emerging countries can be conducive for international relations to evolve along a more rational and balanced direction, the statement said.

The statement said that relations between China and France had registered great progress since the establishment of bilateral ties 46 years ago.

The two countries should make a major contribution to peace, stability and development of the world, conform to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, promote multilateralism and respect the independent and sovereign choice for the development of each country.

The two sides held that the G20 should serve to rebuild the world economic growth pattern and international financial system on a more healthy and more solid basis, and bring into play the G20's role as a major forum in world economic cooperation.

China will actively support France, who is to take the rotating presidency of the G20, the statement said.

The two countries agreed that world countries should commit to pursuing coordinated, stable and coherent macro-economic policies, and further boosting the reform of international currencies and financial systems.

Both countries oppose protectionism in all forms, and would push forward the Doha Round for a successful conclusion.

The two sides agreed to maintain close cooperation and strengthen partnership in environment protection, sustainable development and climate change. Both hoped that the countries could reach agreements at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico.

Both sides consider that their cooperation in Africa is conducive to the development of Africa's economy, and support their enterprises in conducting cooperation in Africa.

China attaches great importance to its ties with the EU in the fields of politics, economy and culture, and is ready to continue to strengthen comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Europe.

France, for its part, is ready to play a leading role in continuing to promote the development of China-EU ties.

Both countries agree that the EU should lift arms embargo on China and recognize China's full market economy status at the earliest date possible.

The two sides pledged to continue high-level exchanges, and hold intensive strategic dialogue to promote mutual understanding and strategic trust, and strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The two sides agreed to attach great importance to bilateral ties, saying they are ready to work together to boost greater development of their comprehensive strategic partnership in a long term and on the basis of mutual respect of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and their fundamental interests.

Surging trade

The two sides reiterated their readiness to build closer, sustainable and innovative trade ties under the guidance of the principles of mutual benefit, win-win and joint development.

Cooperation in nuclear power, space and aviation and railway constitutes an important part of bilateral cooperation.

The two sides are willing to build on 30 years of successful bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy, promote fulfillment of existing cooperation projects and expand cooperation to cover joint projects in third-party markets, the statement said.

France reaffirmed its readiness to further cooperate with China in uranium mining, nuclear fuel production, the construction of nuclear power plants in the two countries and third-party markets, and the processing and recycling of spent nuclear fuels.

The two sides agreed to further deepen the long-term fruitful cooperation between their aviation industries.

Cooperation in aviation can be seen from the cooperation of Airbus and other French enterprises with Chinese airlines and industrial enterprises, the operation of the Airbus final assembly line in Tianjin, the participation of French companies in China's C919 jumbo jet project and the joint development of medium utility helicopter EC175/Z15.

Apart from the traditional fields of cooperation, the two sides were also ready for cooperation in sectors such as environment and sustainable development, agriculture and food processing, and financial services.

The two sides also stand ready to strengthen their cooperation in emerging industries such as new energy, biotechnology, new materials, electric vehicles, recycling economy and low-carbon technologies.

The two sides recognized that the new type of business cooperation relations can be given its full play only under open economy framework, and agreed to make fighting trade protectionism one of the priorities.

The two sides will strengthen intellectual property right protection and try to balance bilateral trade. They will make efforts to further boost bilateral trade and investment.

China and France look forward to the early conclusion of talks between China and the European Union on immigration and issues concerning the flow of human resources. They also reiterated their will to crack down on illegal immigration.

China and France decided to boost their cooperation in culture, education and science and technology, and encourage cooperation between local governments of the two countries.

The two sides will also promote the establishment and development of partnership between universities and colleges of the two countries, and send more youths to each other as studies. They will also lend support to the promotion of the Chinese language in France and the French language in China.

The two sides will also promote research and development cooperation.