Cooperation

Even though numbers of Chinese tourists to France declined recently, both France and China have tried their best to turn the situation around with "everyone doing their jobs", the ambassador said, adding he is optimistic everything "will return to normal".

French Ambassador Herve Ladsous expresses condolences to Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi over the Sichuan earthquake in May.

The embassy will hold scheduled cultural exchanges in opera, ballet, film, photography, sculpture and events related to the Olympic Games. The European Youth Orchestra will visit Beijing at the end of the Games in August, the ambassador said.

Sino-French cooperation in innovative technology is also reflected in the Games. "French companies are active in cooperation," Ladsous said.

One is a joint venture with French company ASK making contact-free inlays for 12.2 million Olympics tickets using its radio frequency identification technology.

Companies from China and France have keen on cooperation of green technologies, the ambassador said, which supports a joint statement on climate change by the two nations.

One effort is for electric taxies, buses and even private cars.

"We are at the very beginning" of the electric vehicle plan, the ambassador said. "It will show people it does work. With higher gasoline prices, it can come into play."

China is developing emission-free nuclear power plants, which France and China have been working on together for 25 years. "We expect the work to continue for many more years to come," he said.