French President Jacques Chirac arrives in Beijing today for a four-day state visit to China.

The visit, Chirac's fourth and probably his last during his tenure in office, will open a new chapter for the future of China-France relations.

New dimensions in the bilateral relationship have been exhibited in a lineup of events, such as the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership, launch of the cultural year in the two countries and initiation of exchange programs for 800 young Chinese and French.

France has indisputably close contact with China thanks to Chirac's China policy of nearly 12 years. The two countries have kept in close contact on major international issues.

When Chirac visited China in 1997, the two countries sealed their comprehensive partnership. A Chirac doctrine on China during his term may set the tune for France's China policy in the future.

The French president's visit will solidify the foundations for strategic co-operative partnership between the two countries. This political dimension of the visit is of great importance for bilateral relations.

Whether the visit will churn out a new political breakthrough in China-France ties hangs on the statement Chirac and President Hu Jintao will issue after their talk on a wide range of issues such as the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

The French president is expected to assure his host of his consistent support for lifting the European Union's embargo on arms sales to China.

On the economic front, Chirac is exalted by French media as a great "salesman" of his country, returning from each of his China visits with a new batch of orders.

Chirac's entourage for this visit includes French businesspeople such as the presidents of Areva, Alstom and Airbus. After leaving Beijing, the French president will visit the city of Wuhan in Central China, in order to encourage small and medium-sized French companies to invest in the inner part of the country. Wuhan is home to the largest Chinese plant of French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.

French investment in China has increased fourfold in the past 10 years, with about 600 French companies doing business in the country.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 42 years ago, China and France have never seen exchanges as close as today's, and co-operation has never been so great as today in terms of both depth and breadth.

In recent years, the mutual visits by the two countries' leaders, political dialogues and people-to-people contacts have all become the best in history.

Given that the two countries are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, their co-operation in international affairs is very important.

China regards Sino-French relations as one of the keys to Sino-European relations.

(China Daily October 25, 2006)