On November 4, 2010, Chinese President Hu Jintao held talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. The two heads of state agreed to boost the comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries.
Hu said the China-France relationship has been characterized by its strategic and global nature and its ability to move with the times since diplomatic ties were forged 46 years ago. Political dialogue has increasingly deepened and political mutual trust strengthened, said Hu. Bilateral trade is expected to exceed 40 billion U.S. dollars this year, and mutual investment has continuously increased, he said. The two countries have carried out extensive exchanges and cooperation in education, science and technology, and culture, and have kept close communication and coordination on major international issues, he added. This year is pivotal to China-France relations. The two countries have for the first time realized the exchange of visits by their heads of state and parliament speakers within the year, which indicates the great importance that both sides attach to bilateral ties.
Sarkozy said it was a great honor to receive Hu in his second state visit to France. Sarkozy congratulated China on the successful holding of the World Expo in Shanghai, saying the expo was another major international event hosted by China after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. France is particularly glad to see China's achievements in its reform and opening-up drive over the past 30 years plus, which is an unprecedented development process in world history, he said. The French side is satisfied with the sound development of bilateral ties.
Hu said China, against the backdrop of deep and complex changes in the international situation, hopes to further enrich the China-France relationship and develop the comprehensive strategic partnership, which is based on mutual trust and mutual benefit, which is mature and stable, and has a global perspective, to play a positive role in the development of equal partnerships between big nations in the new situation. The Chinese president put forward a four-point proposal on the development of bilateral ties. First, the two countries should strengthen mutual respect and strategic mutual trust. Both sides should continuously deepen mutual understanding by carrying out high-level visits and exchanges between governments, legislatures, political parties and regions. Hu said the two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, promote cooperation in various fields and properly handle their differences in order to push for the steady development of bilateral ties. Second, both sides should advance with the times and be creative in practical cooperation. China and France should expand their trade and try to double the trade volume by 2015. Efforts should be made to encourage mutual investment and to create favorable conditions accordingly, said Hu. The two countries should also promote cooperation in nuclear energy and aviation. They should tap potentials for cooperation in energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy resources, new materials, electric cars, information and telecommunications, high-end product manufacturing and finance, he said. Both sides should build new pillars of cooperation, promote upgrading and transformation of economic and trade relations and consolidate the economic basis of bilateral ties, he said. Third, both sides should enhance humanities exchanges by giving full play to each other's advantages. The two sides should continue to encourage cultural institutions to take part in each other's cultural activities, support long-term and stable cooperation between the Palace Museum of China and Le Louvre museum of France. The two countries could also strengthen exchanges and cooperation in film making and journalism, said Hu. The two sides should increase the number of students studying in each other's countries, develop partnerships between the two countries' institutions of higher learning and schools, promote each other's languages, and strengthen exchanges among youths to bring new life into exchanges among young people between China and Europe. Fourth, the two sides should enhance coordination and work together to deal with challenges. The Chinese side is willing to keep close communication and coordination with the French side on global issues, such as the reform of the global economic governance mechanism and climate change, and on international and regional hotspot issues.
Sarkozy said he completely agreed with Hu's views on furthering bilateral ties, saying practical cooperation in various fields between the two countries had developed well. France-China cooperation in aviation and space was exemplary, he said. The French side is ready to strengthen cooperation with China in economy, trade and technology, particularly in nuclear power, he said. With more than 30,000 Chinese students studying in France, China is one of the countries that have the largest number of students in his country, said Sarkozy. France has always been supportive on the lift of the European Union's arms embargo on China, he said. China plays an indispensable role in world affairs and the French side is willing to enhance coordination and cooperation with China on international affairs, said the French president.
Hu said the Chinese side is ready to maintain communication with France on efforts to push for cooperation among members of the Group of 20 (G20) as France is to take over the rotating G20 presidency.
Sarkozy said the French side is ready to cooperate with China closely within the G20 framework and to enhance communication and coordination on issues such as raw material prices and climate change, and on efforts to push forward reform of the international monetary system.
The two presidents attended a signing ceremony of several cooperation documents following their meeting.
On the evening of the same day, Hu attended a welcome banquet given in his honor by Sarkozy. Later, Hu met with Senate President Gerard Larcher and National Assembly Speaker Bernard Accoyer, to exchange views on ties between the two countries' legislatures.
Hu also met with staff of the Chinese embassy in France, representatives of Chinese institutions in France, overseas Chinese and students.
Ling Jihua, Wang Huning and Dai Bingguo attended the above activities.