China, France should jointly fend off ´new Cold War´ or bloc confrontation: Xi

As the world goes through transformation and turbulence not seen in a century, China and France should uphold independence and jointly prevent a "new Cold War" or bloc confrontation, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday, reported Xinhua.

Xi made the remarks during talks with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, at Elysee Palace.

The Chinese president expressed his delight in making the third state visit to France on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic relations.

The two sides should stay committed to the spirit that guided the establishment of their diplomatic ties, namely, independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision and mutual benefit, and enrich it with new features of the new era, Xi said.

The two sides should continue to understand each other, jointly promote harmonious coexistence in a colorful world, stick to taking a long view and work together for an equal and orderly multipolar world, he said.

They should pursue win-win cooperation and jointly oppose decoupling, cutting off supply chains, he said.

Xi stressed that China is willing to maintain strategic communication with France, respect each other's core interests, and consolidate the strategic stability of bilateral relations, tap the vast potential of mutually beneficial cooperation and facilitate growth and balance in bilateral trade.

China is willing to import more quality products from France, push for more practical results from the "French farm to Chinese dining table" mechanism, and hope that France will export more high-tech and high value-added products to China, Xi said.

The two sides should enhance the docking of development strategies, deepen cooperation in traditional areas such as aerospace and aviation, strengthen cooperation in nuclear energy, innovation and finance, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as green energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, he said.

China has fully liberalized access to its manufacturing sector and will speed up market access in telecommunications, medical and other services, Xi said.

We welcome more French companies to invest in China, he said, adding that China hopes that France will provide a sound business environment and stable development expectations for Chinese companies to invest and cooperate in France.

Xi stressed that both as major countries with a rich culture, China and France should speed up people-to-people and cultural exchanges, continue to hold various activities of the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, and actively promote cooperation in the joint protection and restoration of cultural relics and pairing between world heritage sites.

Welcoming more French friends to visit China, Xi said that China will extend the visa-free policy for short-term visits to China by 12 countries, including France, until the end of 2025.

China also looks forward to hosting more than 10,000 French students in the next three years and doubling the number of European youth exchanges in China, Xi said.

China supports France in hosting a successful Paris Olympic Games and will send a high-level delegation to France, said the Chinese president.

China is willing to deepen cooperation with France in climate change, biodiversity and other fields, support France in hosting a successful UN Ocean Conference, and encourage the pairing of relevant national parks and nature reserves of the two countries, Xi said.

China is also willing to strengthen dialogue and communication with France in such areas as artificial intelligence governance and reform of the international financial system.