China France Photo:VCG

Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-France economic and trade cooperation has yielded fruitful results in various fields, fully serving as the "ballast" and "propeller" of bilateral relations, He Yadong, spokesperson of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), told a press conference on Thursday.

He Yadong made the remarks as French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a state visit to China, which will run through Friday.

According to the spokesperson, bilateral trade has expanded in scale and improved in quality, reaching $68.75 billion in the first 10 months, a year-on-year increase of 4.1 percent. Two-way investment has remained stable with steady growth, and the total stock of investment has exceeded $27 billion.

On Thursday morning, the MOFCOM and the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty jointly hosted the seventh meeting of the China-France Business Council in Beijing, attracting more than 150 representatives of Chinese and French enterprises, the spokesperson said. 

Discussions focused on three themes - new paradigms for green and low-carbon cooperative development, new trends in industrial transformation and consumption change, and new opportunities for cross-border investment in innovative fields. Participants expressed firm confidence and strong willingness to deepen bilateral cooperation, He Yadong added.

The two ministries signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening two-way investment. Both sides will support and encourage enterprises from the two countries to increase mutual investment and provide a fair, just, non-discriminatory, and predictable business environment for each other's enterprises, He Yadong said.

Going forward, we will work with the French side to effectively implement the important economic and trade consensuses reached by the two heads of state and continue to promote deeper and more substantive pragmatic cooperation, the spokesperson noted.

"I am very honored to be part of President Macron's business delegation as CEO of SUEZ. This high-level exchange reaffirms the enduring strength and potential of the China-France partnership and the vital role of international cooperation in addressing global environmental challenges. It's encouraging to the business community that we're all here today," Xavier Girre, CEO of French environmental giant SUEZ, said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Thursday.

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of SUEZ's presence in China... Looking ahead, we will continue to support China's priorities for an ecological transition, decarbonization and sustainable development, and look forward to deepening cooperation to deliver concrete environmental and economic outcomes," Girre noted.

"It marks Macron's fourth state visit to China, which demonstrates the frequent high-level interactions between China and France, as well as their strong strategic significance," Zhao Junjie, a senior research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday. 

Zhao said that during his China trip, strengthening economic and trade ties with China will be one of the major topics. "Through this visit, a series of arrangements — including high-level meetings, economic exchanges, and concrete business outcomes — fully demonstrate the shared willingness of both sides to resolve differences through face-to-face communication, minimize ideological conflict, and focus on strategic and long-term cooperation," Zhao noted.

Ling Ji, vice minister of the MOFCOM and deputy China international trade representative, met with Henri Poupart-Lafarge, chairman and CEO of Alstom on Tuesday, the ministry said on its website on Wednesday.

Poupart-Lafarge said that thanks to the strong support of the Chinese government, Alstom has achieved excellent results from its investment and operations in China. During this visit to China accompanying Macron, the company will sign new commercial agreements with Chinese partners, he said, according to the MOFCOM. 

"China has always kept its door wide open to France. The two countries enjoy a deep foundation for cooperation in traditional fields such as high-speed rail, nuclear power, and agricultural products, and there is even greater need to deepen mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, drones, new-energy vehicles, and innovative investment," Zhao said.

Zhao urged France to maintain a pragmatic and independent foreign policy toward China, integrating the core interests of both sides through cooperation to achieve mutually beneficial win-win outcomes. 

The expert also said that Macron's visit to China will not only boost bilateral economic cooperation but also set a benchmark and example for China-EU relations against a turbulent backdrop.

"The current European strategic positioning toward China is misaligned: on the one hand, the bloc has the need to collaborate with China in areas such as markets, technology, climate change, and global governance; on the other hand, it regards China as a systemic rival. This has led to a decline in political mutual trust and clear restrictions on two-way investment and broader cooperation. As a major European power and a driving force behind China-EU relations, Macron's visit to China, which features pragmatic, trust-based, and mutually beneficial win-win cooperation, carries a demonstrative effect," Zhao said.

The visit demonstrates that in the tide of globalization, strengthening cooperation with China is the overarching trend. The European side should abandon its entrenched prejudices against China, and jointly inject stability into the global economy through pragmatic cooperation, Zhao noted.