Chinese leaders on Friday held talks with visiting French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Beijing and pledged to strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and expand nuclear energy cooperation.

Ayrault arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a five-day official visit to China, which comes as the two countries are set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.

In a meeting with Ayrault, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the establishment of diplomatic ties was a milestone in the history of interactions between the East and the West, which "opened a door" for the two sides to understand each other.

Recalling French President Francois Hollande's visit to China in April, Xi said the consensus reached by the two presidents is being implemented step by step.

China stands ready to work together with the French side to enhance political trust, Xi said.

The two sides should continue to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, increase communication, and appropriately address disputes to make the bilateral relationship even more stable and lead it to a new high.

Xi proposed that China and France make use of their special advantages and boost cooperation in multiple sectors to improve economic growth and increase job opportunities.

The two sides should also increase coordination on global and regional issues in pursuit of the democratization of international relations and sustainable growth of the world economy, Xi said.

For his part, Ayrault said France and China, as major powers, hold the same or similar stances in global and regional affairs, and their cooperation has led to achievements.

The French side is willing to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to expand cooperation in various areas to enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Ayrault said.

Ayrault also met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and they vowed to expand the three-decade nuclear energy cooperation of the two countries to target markets in other countries.

"We agreed to jointly exploit third-party markets of nuclear energy. China hopes the two countries can find broader space in the markets," Li said while meeting reporters after his hour-long talks with Ayrault. Li described their discussion as "candid and friendly."

Nuclear energy cooperation between China and France dates back to the early 1990s establishment of the Daya Bay nuclear power plant in South China's Guangdong Province. It has two 1,000-megawatt pressurized water reactors introduced from France.

The Chinese premier also voiced appreciation for France's decision to shorten the visa processing time for Chinese citizens to two days, saying this will facilitate personnel engagement, tourism, trade and investment between the two countries.

Ayrault welcomed more Chinese tourists to visit France and promised to simplify the visa processing procedure.

Xinhua - Global Times