President Chirac's state visit was rounded off with a grand
ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of
Sino-French diplomatic ties after both countries had issued a
joint press communiqué on the tour's outcomes.
The two nations, both permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council, reiterated their respect for multilateralism and
the UN Charter. The UN's role in economic and social spheres was
underscored, as was support for summits of the Group of Twenty
nations, whilst the mutual establishment of new consulates is also
being considered.
During talks with Chirac, Chinese President Hu Jintao
said regular annual meetings between leaders of both countries
should be arranged to assist a joint effort to further democratize
international relations.
Chirac reaffirmed the one-China policy, saying he opposes any
move to intensify the tension across the Taiwan Strait with moves
toward to Taiwanese independence.
On January 27th 1964 a joint communiqué was issued announcing
the forging of diplomatic ties, making France the first major
Western country to do so with the People's Republic of China.
Hu's state visit to France in January this year is thought to
have furthered the strategic partnership between the two nations
and recent efforts have resulted in levels of cooperation in the
economy, education, culture and science and technology that have
been the highest in history.
According to Chinese figures the total volume of two-way trade
in 2003 amounted to US$13.39 billion (60.9 percent more than the
previous year). Leading French companies such as Alcatel, Alstom,
Airbus and Carrefour have seen their business booming in China.
The 20 agreements signed during Chirac's tour concerned areas as
diverse as environmental protection, transport, aviation,
agriculture, telecommunications and finance.
French businesses clinched over 20 deals with Chinese partners
during their president's visit. The contracts, worth billions of US
dollars, include the sale of 26 Airbus aircrafts, train technology
and equipment transfer.
French and Chinese scientists and researchers have been brought
closer with more than 700 joint projects. Exchanges in education
have also made headway with approximately 20,000 Chinese students
studying in France and about 120 universities and more than 20 high
schools in each country having set up twinships. The agreement
signed by the two nations on mutual recognition of diplomas further
boosted the exchanges.
Two Culture
Years have been jointly launched: from October 2003 to July
2004 the French public were invited to enjoy more than 300 events
celebrating the "Middle Kingdom", whilst Chinese people have their
turn to appreciate and admire French culture from October 2004 to
July 2005 with a series of concerts, exhibitions and
performances.
(Xinhua News Agency October 13, 2004)