Xi says China is working to steadily expand institutional
opening-up
PARIS, May 8, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- President Xi Jinping said on Monday that
entrepreneurs in France are
welcome to participate in China's modernization efforts, and to
seize opportunities arising from China's development as the country
mulls significant moves to further deepen reform across various
sectors.
Xi made the remarks when attending the closing ceremony of the
sixth meeting of the China-France Business Council together with
French President Emmanuel Macron at
the Theatre Marigny in Paris.
Xi told delegates to the meeting that China is working to
steadily expand institutional opening-up, ease market access and
shorten the negative list for foreign investment. This will help
provide a broader market and more win-win cooperation opportunities
for countries including France, he
said.
Since China and France
established diplomatic ties 60 years ago, the two countries have
developed a closely intertwined relationship between their
economies, with bilateral trade increasing 800-fold to reach
$78.9 billion last year.
Based on past and present experiences, Xi emphasized that there
are no justifiable reasons for failures in maximizing the potential
of the China-France relationship,
and vowed to further enhance its productivity.
"China will continue to make full use of the 'French farm to
Chinese dining table' whole-chain rapid coordination mechanism, and
bring more cheese, ham, wine and other quality agricultural
products from France to the dining
tables of Chinese families," he said.
Xi also announced that China will extend visa exemption entry
for citizens from France and
another 11 countries on short-term visits to China until the end of
2025.
"Deeper friendship calls for frequent exchanges and closer
cooperation. We always view France
as a priority and trustworthy partner of cooperation," he said.
According to Xi, the China-France relationship has always been a
pacesetter for relations between China and Western countries.
"It shows how countries with different cultures, systems and
development levels can help each other succeed and make progress
together," he said, adding that the China-France friendship is in the best interest of
the Chinese and French peoples as well as in the interest of the
whole world.
Noting that China and Europe
are two major markets promoting globalization, Xi said China will
work with France to deepen
mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides.
He called on the two sides to continue to enhance political
mutual trust, remove various distractions, and jointly oppose
attempts to turn business relations into political, ideological or
security issues.
"We should turn China and Europe into each other's key partners for
business cooperation, priority partners for cooperation in science
and technology, and trustworthy partners for cooperation in
industrial and supply chains," he said, adding that China will open
its market wider to create more opportunities for companies from
France, Europe and beyond.
Around 200 government officials and entrepreneurs from both
countries participated in the meeting.
Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone, who attended the
meeting on Monday, said that as China advances its high-quality
development agenda and nurtures new quality productive forces,
French enterprises like Danone have found fertile ground for
growth.
"The high-level exchanges have painted a promising blueprint for
the future development of China-France relations, which is truly inspiring,"
he said, adding that he expects the two countries' partnership to
generate new opportunities in the future.
By MO JINGXI
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SOURCE China Daily