Top Chinese legislator calls for close Sino-Franco trade partnership

• Source: Xinhua
• [09:17 July 10 2010]
• Comments

Wu Bangguo (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, addresses the Chinese-French forum on economic and trade cooperation in Paris, capital of France, July 9, 2010. Photo: Xinhua

Wu Bangguo, China's top legislator, said Friday that China and France should strengthen their cooperation and build a close, long-term and sustainable type of new economic and trade partnership.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of Chinese National People's Congress (NPC), who arrived in Paris on Wednesday for an eight-day official goodwill visit to France, gave a keynote speech at a business forum grouping at least 200 senior French and Chinese officials and business leaders in Paris.

In his speech, Wu reviewed the ties between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1964.

He said the Sino-Franco comprehensive strategic partnership charted by Chinese President Hu Jintao and former French President Jacques Chirac in 2004 has turned "a new page" in bilateral relations.

"The Sino-Franco relations have formed a mutually-beneficial pattern that is all-dimensional, wide-ranging and multi-tiered, injecting vitality and energy to the comprehensive strategic partnership," Wu said.

"The trade volume between the two countries has reached 17.12 billion US dollars in the first five months this year, a 40.3 percent increase on the year-on-year basis," Wu added.

France is at present China's fourth largest trading partner within the EU while China is France's biggest trading partner in Asia, he said.

Wu said the Chinese and French economies are highly complementary to each other and have great potential for more bilateral cooperation.

China and France should develop their trade cooperation from a strategic perspective, exert their advantages and enhance substantial cooperation in line with the principle of mutual benefit and win-win, Wu said.

He laid out a three-point proposal to jointly build a close, long-term and sustainable new-type China-France economic partnership.

"The first is to deepen cooperation on big projects. The economic and trade cooperation between China and France is featured in large number of big and technology-intensive projects in such fields as nuclear power exploration, aerospace and high-speed railway," Wu said.