Foreign and Military Affairs

Senior official begins four-day visit to France

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-07-03 07:15

NICE, France - He Guoqiang, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), arrived in the southern French coastal city of Nice on Saturday to begin a four-day official goodwill visit to France.

He, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, was the second top Chinese official to visit Europe in less than two weeks.

In improvement of relations between China and Europe, Premier Wen Jiabao visited Hungary, Britain and Germany from June 24 to June 28.

The visits reflect deepening relations between China and Europe in the wake of the European sovereign debt crisis that has gripped some peripheral euro zone economies such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

China has repeatedly said it supports European efforts to maintain financial and economic stability, and has been buying European government bonds to help it deal with the crisis.

He said in a written statement issued upon his arrival in Nice that China and France have achieved fruitful results on cooperation in political, economic, cultural and other areas since they established diplomatic relations 47 years ago.

The Chinese leader added that the cooperation has brought tangible benefits to both the Chinese and French peoples and also contributed to peace and stability in the world.

Noting that the international situation is undergoing profound and complicated changes, He stressed that China and France, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, enjoy more and more common topics, tasks and interests in promoting domestic development and tackling major global challenges, adding that bilateral cooperation has promising prospects.

He said he looks forward to having extensive exchanges and contacts with French political and business leaders during the visit to strengthen mutual trust, deepen bilateral cooperation and intensify coordination and communication on important regional and international issues.

He also said that his current visit will inject fresh vigor and vitality into the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The booming Chinese economy has served as an import-export market for France in recent years, while China has long vied for advanced French technologies like high-speed train and civilian nuclear equipment.

Bilateral trade reached $44.8 billion in 2010, with Chinese imports from France rising by a remarkable 32 percent.

The Chinese leader was to hold talks with local officials in Nice later Saturday. He is expected to travel to Paris on Sunday where he will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy and other leaders.

While in Paris, He will jointly launch with French officials the Chinese Language Year program in France, a cultural initiative designed to promote Chinese language and culture in the European country. He will also speak at a dinner hosted by French and Chinese business leaders in his honor.

At the airport in Nice, He was welcomed by senior local officials and Kong Quan, the Chinese ambassador to France.

France is the first leg of He's five-nation overseas trip which will later take him to Poland, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. He will make a stopover in Turkey after visiting Poland.