Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a video meeting with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.
Wang Yi said that the past year has witnessed the intertwined forces of changes and turbulence in the international situation, with geopolitical tensions on the rise and the global economy under mounting downward pressure. Thanks to the strategic guidance of the two heads of state and the joint efforts of both sides, China-France relations have withstood the test of changes and turbulence, maintained overall stability, and showed positive growth momentum. The successful meeting between President Xi Jinping and President Emmanuel Macron in Bali not long ago has enhanced mutual understanding and mutual trust, and expanded consensus and cooperation. China is ready to work with France to maintain close high-level exchanges, and strengthen planning and design to enhance the stability and predictability of China-France relations. Wang noted that it is important to deepen practical cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture, and aviation, among others, tap the potential of cooperation in such fields as green energy, medicine and health, and scientific and technological innovation, and hold a new round of China-France high-level dialogue on people-to-people exchanges at an early date, so as to promote greater development of China-France comprehensive strategic partnership in the new year.
Wang Yi said that China attaches importance to France’s status as a core major country in the European Union (EU), and appreciates France’s commitment to the strategic autonomy of the EU. China is ready to work with France to strengthen strategic communication, make China and France’s voices heard on global challenges and regional hotspot issues, and demonstrate the high-level nature of China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, so as to inject new impetus into the practical cooperation between the two sides, and contribute to the sound development of China-EU relations and world and regional peace and stability.
Wang Yi stressed that as the COVID-19 pandemic enters a new stage, China will continue to act on the philosophy of putting people and their lives front and center, take well-coordinated steps to balance COVID response and economic and social development, and continuously improve and recalibrate COVID response measures to facilitate cross-border flow of people. China’s economic outlook remains good, and its massive market potential will be unleashed at a faster pace, which will bring greater opportunities to France and other countries.
Colonna said that France is ready to work with China to make good preparations for high-level exchanges between the two sides in the next stage, draw up roadmaps for cooperation, and consolidate and deepen France-China comprehensive strategic partnership which has maintained sound momentum of growth. She said that France is optimistic about, and ready to help China advance, its modernization drive. France, which has also gone through several waves of COVID-19 outbreaks, appreciates China’s new measures to tackle the pandemic, and expects to reactivate cultural and people-to-people exchanges with China and gradually restore the normal cross-border travel between the two sides. France speaks highly of China’s role as the president of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15), and its contributions to COP15’s major success. France will continue to strengthen multilateral coordination with China to jointly tackle global challenges.
The two sides also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine, the nuclear issue on Korean Peninsula, among others.
Source: FMPRC
