China, France vow to open up new prospects for friendly cooperation

World Today

China, France vow to open up new prospects for friendly cooperation. Photo by Xinhua News Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting French President Francois Hollande agreed to further open up new prospects for bilateral friendly cooperation during their meeting on Monday in Beijing.

The French President Hollande’s two-day state visit includes talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and meeting with Premier Li Keqiang. High on the agenda is climate change.

President Hollande announced earlier that he intended to use the state visit to boost difficult negotiations a month before a UN conference in Paris aimed at slowing global warming. As the most populous country and one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, China has set its target for capping emissions by 2030.

French diplomats said China had a leading role in influencing other developing countries on the issue, and France was trying to get China’s backing of a mechanism that would require countries to set clear emission cut targets.

On Tuesday, the French President would meet with Premier Li Keqiang and they would speak to a Chinese-French economic forum on green growth. Analysts said the move showed that the two sides believed sustainable development and preventing climate change were crucial to the future.


Francois Hollande meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping

Xi met with Hollande at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this Monday. Xi said close high-level interaction is a good tradition of China-France relations, and the two countries have had fruitful and practical cooperation and people-to-people exchanges in all areas.

Hollande said both sides have maintained good mutual political trust and dialogue and improved cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, nuclear power, tourism and culture.

The French sides expected to make joint efforts with China for positive results at the upcoming Paris Conference on Climate Change in December and was also willing to actively support China in hosting the G20 Summit in 2016.

The two presidents issued the China-France Joint Statement on climate change and witnessed the signing of several cooperation documents in the fields of economy, finance, energy, environment,and culture.

CCTV’s Tang Bo reports from Beijing.


Hollande: China’s support is essential in coping with climate change

French President Francois Hollande arrived in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality on Monday to start his two-day state visit to China. This is his second state visit to China.

French President Francois Hollande arrives at the airport on October 2, 2015 in Chongqing, China. Photo by Chen Chao, CNSPHOTO, ChinaFotoPress

French President Francois Hollande arrives at the airport on October 2, 2015 in Chongqing, China. (Photo by Chen Chao/CNSPHOTO/ChinaFotoPress)

French President Francois Hollande (L) and Chongqing's Party secretary Sun Zhengcai (R) shake hands during a meeting in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE

French President Francois Hollande (L) and Chongqing’s Party secretary Sun Zhengcai (R) shake hands during a meeting in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE

French President Francois Hollande unveils a plaque to inaugurate a new Sino French company to clean up grounds during a visit of the Sino French Tangjiatuo Wastewater treatment company in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO, STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

French President Francois Hollande unveils a plaque to inaugurate a new Sino French company to clean up grounds during a visit of the Sino French Tangjiatuo Wastewater treatment company in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO, STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

A picture taken on November 2, 2015 shows the Sino French Tangjiatuo Wastewater treatment company site in Chongqing. AFP PHOTO, STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

A picture taken on November 2, 2015 shows the Sino French Tangjiatuo Wastewater treatment company site in Chongqing. AFP PHOTO, STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

French President Francois Hollande (C) poses with Chongqing's mayor Huang Qifan (L) during a Huguang Guild Hall tour in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE

French President Francois Hollande (C) poses with Chongqing’s mayor Huang Qifan (L) during a Huguang Guild Hall tour in Chongqing on November 2, 2015. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE

One goal of Hollande’s visit is to secure support for a global deal on climate change ahead of a key climate conference in Paris in late November. He said China’s support is essential in the fight against global warming and he is seeking an ambitious agreement that would allow global warming to be limited to two degrees.

The upcoming 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Paris from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.