Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron met with the press after talks at the Élysée Palace in Paris on May 6, according to the Chinese embassy’s website.
Xi arrived in France at the invitation of President Macron on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. During the meeting, both sides agreed to reinforce the strategic stability of bilateral relations. The two sides affirmed that they would respect each other’s core interests and conduct timely political communication and coordination “through multi-level, multi-dimensional channels.”
The countries agreed to expand co-operation in agri-food, financial and other sectors, as well as promote joint research, development and innovation in areas, such as aviation, aerospace and civil nuclear energy.
China had fully opened its manufacturing sector and would more rapidly expand market access in the services sector, such as telecoms and medical services, the embassy reported.
During the visit, the leaders signed 18 co-operation agreements between government departments covering aviation, agriculture, people-to-people exchange, green development and small and medium-sized business (SME) co-operation.
Paris and Beijing will consider the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism as an opportunity to promote co-operation in education, sports, film and television, youth and sub-national partnership.
China also supports France in hosting the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The eastern country decided to extend the short-term visa-free policy for citizens of 12 countries, including France, until the end of 2025. In the next three years, the Chinese side wants to bring the total number of French students in China to more than 10,000, as well as double the number of young Europeans on exchange programmes to China.
China supports France in hosting the UN Ocean Conference in 2025 and welcomes the partnership between the two countries’ national parks and nature reserves.
Xi pledged to work with France to advocate an end to hostilities around the world during the Paris Olympics. The Chinese leader also noted that his country supported Palestine’s full membership in the UN, as well as the restoration of Palestine’s legitimate national rights and the resumption of the two-state solution to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.
He also noted that China was not the initiator of the Ukrainian crisis and was not a party or a participant. At the same time, China opposed attempts to use the Ukrainian crisis to ignite old conflicts, the embassy’s website noted.
Xi Jinping pointed out that this year marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. China is ready to develop friendly relations and co-operation with France and all other countries on the basis of mutual respect for the sake of ‘a better future,” the statement said.
