The stability and development of China-France ties benefit not only the two countries but also the China-Europe relationship and the world as a whole, said Chinese Ambassador to France Kong Quan Wednesday.
It will be of significant importance to retrospect the bilateral ties this year as it marks both the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and France, Kong told Xinhua in an interview.
"In 1964 when China and France forged the relationship, the total bilateral trade volume was only some 100 million US dollars, which only roughly equaled to their current daily trade volume," said the ambassador.
He noted the drastic increase in trade mirrored how great progress the bilateral relations have made in the past 45 years.
In the 45 years, the ties have been extended and deepened along with China's change and development, Kong commented.
Saying that the pragmatic cooperation in various fields between the two countries has seen progress one after another, he summarized the bilateral cooperation as frequent exchanges with fruitful achievements, which will boost mutual understanding and benefit generations to come.
In recent years, China and France have extended their cooperation to such new fields as agricultural processing and energy saving besides those traditional sectors like nuclear energy, aerospace and transportation, Kong said.
The French government has paid quite heavy attention to the forthcoming Shanghai World Expo. By investing 50 million euros (73.5 million dollars) into building a national pavilion and several local exhibition halls, the French side seeks to reflect its accomplishments in all fields so that the Chinese could have a better understanding of France, according to Kong.
He said that amid the financial crisis, the two sides have made concerted efforts to sustain mutual interests and worked hard to restore the world economic growth.
The world now is experiencing profound transformations, which however does not alienate the two countries. A more solid foundation for mutual cooperation has been in the making, said Kong.
Reflecting on the past 45 years, Kong said that it was comforting to see that the two countries could always take the overall situation into consideration and make joint efforts to seek a solution whenever a problem arises.
He also mentioned several examples like the two heads of state meeting on the sidelines of the London G20 financial summit in April and a series of important visits in the first half of this year to demonstrate a positive trends in the bilateral cooperation in all sectors.
"We have reasons to believe that bigger and more promising development will be achieved between the two sides. It is in the interests of both the Chinese and French and also conforms to the trend of the future."
"We are full of confidence in not only China's future, but also the future advancement of the bilateral relationship between China and France," Kong said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2009)
