Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on May 6 at the closing ceremony of the Sixth Meeting of the China-France Business Council, emphasizing the theme of “Building on Past Achievements to Jointly Usher in a New Era in China-France Cooperation.”
He highlighted China’s willingness to engage in close, comprehensive communication and cooperation with France to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level and achieve greater accomplishments.
Since France recognized China on January 27, 1964, relations between the two nations have grown steadily, culminating in a “global strategic partnership” established in 2004.
From a strategic perspective, China and France have engaged in strategic dialogue since 2001, covering all areas of cooperation, including reforming global governance, addressing climate change, and managing regional crises.
In contrast to the United States’ approach toward China, which is often perceived as confrontational, France follows an independent foreign policy, pursuing economic and strategic alignment with China.
President Xi noted that “as one of the earliest participants in China’s reform and opening-up, France has contributed to China’s modernization drive and benefited from it. Deeper friendship calls for frequent exchanges and closer cooperation.”
France is China’s third-largest trading partner within the European Union, and China is the third-largest source of real investment in the EU. For France, China is its largest trading partner in Asia and seventh-largest globally.
China and France have reached several economic and financial agreements. For instance, at the Ninth China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue in July 2023, they agreed to adopt a joint approach on multilateral and global challenges, accelerate international economic recovery, reaffirmed their willingness to push quality and sustainable infrastructure investment, and committed to advancing cooperation on climate change, biodiversity conservation, multilateralism, and facilitating bilateral trade.
Defying calls for decoupling, France has been looking to strengthen relations with China. During his visit to Beijing in April, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna expressed France’s desire not to decouple from China, seeking to rebalance the economic partnership, echoing French President Emmanuel Macron’s stance against decoupling.
Macron has been vocal in his support for European strategic autonomy. He stated that “the U.S. has two priorities: the U.S. first, which is legitimate, and the China issue second. And the European issue is not a geopolitical priority for the coming years and decades,” reiterating his call that the EU should never be a “vassal” of the U.S.
This sentiment is shared by many Europeans. A multi-country poll by the European Council on Foreign Relations last year found that 74 percent of Europeans wanted the bloc to be less dependent on America’s security guarantees and become self-reliant in foreign policy. Contrary to the EU’s de-risking approach, Europeans were reluctant to “de-risk” or decouple from China.
France seeks to reduce its trade deficit with China, and the gap is gradually narrowing as China’s imports from France increased by 5.5 percent in 2023. China’s imports of French agricultural products in 2023 jumped 50.5 percent from 2019, and its consumer goods imports from France grew at an annual rate of 12.3 percent over the last five years.
China and France’s commitment to deepening cooperation reflects a shared interest in promoting mutual economic growth and addressing global challenges. As both nations navigate the complexities of international relations, their partnership serves as a model for constructive engagement and underscores the importance of strategic dialogue and collaboration in an increasingly interconnected world.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
