French PM starts 5-day visit to China

Source:AFP-Global Times Published: 2013-12-6 0:38:01

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (left) tours the historic Palace Museum at the start of his visit in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AFP

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (left) tours the historic Palace Museum at the start of his visit in Beijing on Thursday. Photo: AFP

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault Thursday arrived in China for a five-day visit, which is expected to be dominated by trade issues.

Ayrault is the third leader of a major power to visit China this week, coming on the heels of British Prime Minister David Cameron and US Vice President Joe Biden.

The French prime minister headed a delegation that includes five cabinet members and several business leaders to Beijing on Thursday. He will hold a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday, and then travel to Wuhan and Guangzhou.

According to a press release from the French Embassy in Beijing, the visit aims to prepare for next year's celebrations of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and France.

Speaking to reporters at the Palace Museum in Beijing on Thursday, Ayrault said that "the future of employment in France also depends on this immense market in China."

"We have to rebalance our trade flows. Today they work in China's favor, but in future years, they will become balanced if ... France steps up to the plate," he said.

One item expected to be at the top of the agenda is agribusiness, an area of increasing opportunity for France as Chinese consumers "are more and more demanding in terms of food safety," Ayrault noted.

"The new Chinese leadership has a real strategy, and it would be a real mistake for France not to understand that she has a card to play with her big companies and her small and medium-size companies," he said. "That's the drive of my visit."

According to the French Embassy, some 2,200 French enterprises have set up branches in China and provided more than 500,000 positions. Meanwhile, around 200 Chinese enterprises have investments in France.

On people-to-people exchange, Ayrault estimated that in the future, as many as 300 million Chinese could be persuaded to visit France.

France is the top European destination for Chinese tourists, with a record 1.4 million visitors from China last year.

The two countries are also expected to mark the 30th anniversary of Sino-French cooperation on civil nuclear power during the French prime minister's visit.

Posted in: Diplomacy, Europe

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