Hollande's visit to boost China-France ties
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E-mail Xinhua, April 23, 2013
China plays a significant role in promoting world peace, stability and development, and France is determined to strengthen the comprehensive relations of strategic partnership between the two sides, Hollande said.
Hollande's trip as the first head of state from a major Western country to visit Beijing since China's new leadership took office reflects the depth of France-China ties, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said.
He said Holland's visit will inject fresh impetus to the development of France-China relation.
Promoting mutual benefit, win-win cooperation
Economic cooperation will be another important topic of Hollande's coming visit.
China and France are both major economies in the world. They enjoy a good tradition and solid foundation of bilateral economic cooperation. Both nations expect to further explore new areas of cooperation and inject new vitality into their economic cooperation and trade.
Official statistics show that France is by far the fourth largest trading partner of China within the European Union and the fourth biggest source of investment. France also is the second biggest exporter of technology for China.
Bilateral trade topped 51.02 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, including 24.12 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports from France, a 9.3-percent growth year on year.
In January, the two-way trade volume reached 4.18 billion dollars, up 5.3 percent from last year. China's imports from France stood at 1.83 billion dollars, up 25.5 percent year on year.
All of the figures show that trade between China and France is heading toward more balanced growth.
In the cultural field, exchanges of visits between China and France have become more frequent in recent years. More than 1 million Chinese tourists visit France annually in a boost to the French economy.
China and France held a language year for each other in 2012. More and more young people have started to learn each other's language.
Among Hollande's entourage are ministers of a number of departments, including foreign affairs, economy and finance, energy and education as well as representatives of some 50 companies.
The French entrepreneurs hope that they could use the opportunity of China's economic and social transformation to strengthen cooperation with Beijing in such fields as city management, environmental protection and health care.
More tangible results are expected during the visit so as to push forward mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between the two countries.
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