Xi urges joint efforts on climate change

President Xi Jinping meets with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Beijing on Monday. Xi said China firmly supports France in hosting the upcoming climate change summit. WU ZHIYI/CHINA DAILY

China and France have agreed that a global climate change pact should require countries to increase their emission cuts every five years, according to a joint declaration issued on Monday.

China firmly supports France in hosting the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, beginning late this month in Paris, and it hopes that the summit will get overall and balanced results, President Xi Jinping said while meeting with visiting French President Francois Hollande.

"We would like to make joint efforts with France to make the climate change summit successful," Xi said at a news conference with Hollande in Beijing.

In the declaration, the two countries also declared that, as soon as possible within the next five years, they will release their own national strategies on developing low-carbon economies by 2050.

"The Paris accord must send a clear signal for the world to engage in a transition toward green, low-carbon development that is sustainable and resilient in the face of climate change," the declaration states.

During the meeting, the two sides signed 17 cooperation documents in areas including nuclear energy, aerospace and electricity.

China National Nuclear Corp, the China Atomic Energy Authority, China Huaneng Group and China Datang Corp have signed agreements with French institutes and companies. JD.com, one of China's leading online-shopping platforms, has also signed an agreement with the French on intelligent logistics.

Xi said that the Chinese government encourages domestic companies to invest in France, and that French companies are welcome to participate in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

"Your last visit to China and my visit to France last year both occurred in the spring, and there is a Chinese saying that if you plant a seed in spring, you will harvest tens of thousands of grains in the autumn," Xi told Hollande, adding that the bilateral ties have been progressing this autumn.

Hollande said the declaration was a "major step" toward an agreement in Paris and that his visit to Beijing is "historic". "With this declaration, we have set up conditions that open the way to success, and I am of a mind to believe that an agreement is now possible," he said.

Ding Chun, director of the Center for European Studies of Fudan University, said that as the hosting country of the climate change summit, France hopes to get support from China on cuts in carbon emissions.

China and the European Union have cooperated much in global administration, and climate change could be a main field where the two could enhance cooperation, Ding said.

Harold Parisot, president of the French Chinese Business Club, said that Hollande's visit to Beijing is expected to increase the country's nuclear energy exports to China and enhance economic and trade ties.

The French president's visit is also expected to win support from the world's second-largest economy on climate change issues, Parisot said.

Wang Qingyun contributed to this story.