Editor's note: Hu Hong is an assistant research fellow at the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Jacques Chirac, former French president from 1995 to 2007, passed away at the age of 86 on Thursday.

Chinese officials and internet users paid tribute to the former Elysée Palace resident. On Chinese social networks, condolences poured after the news broke, and "the passing of former President Chirac" became one of the most searched topics on Weibo, China's Twitter-like platform, on Thursday night.

Why were people in China so moved by the news?

Sino-French relations made great headway during Chirac's era – and therein lies a simple answer to the question. The "golden decade" best describes the Sino-French relations during Chirac's presidency.

France was among the first Western powers to establish a comprehensive partnership and a comprehensive strategic partnership with China in 1997 and 2004, respectively. These moves were well ahead of other Western powers, some of which had not been able to develop the similar kind of relationship with China even in the following two decades.

Chirac also put forward the idea of "Sino-French Culture Year," which was later put into practice by the two countries from 2003 to 2005. This set a good example of a new kind of cultural exchanges between China and European countries. 

Today, China has set up the mechanism of "culture year" with many other European countries, such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. These events have greatly facilitated people-to-people exchanges between China and these countries.

However, what stood out was Chirac's appreciation and deep understanding of the Chinese culture.

Several stories about how Chirac adored Chinese culture have been widely shared on Chinese social media. One such story is about how Chirac could tell the exact age of a bronze ware in a picture during a discussion with top expert on bronze ware, Professor Ma Chengyuan.

On another occasion, he exchanged views with Chinese archaeologists on many details of the discoveries of Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor – not to mention his collection of art pieces that were displayed in his office when he was the mayor of Paris. These examples showed that his understanding of the Chinese culture was far beyond that of many Chinese internet users.

Meanwhile, Chirac's personal relations with Chinese leaders such as Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin also impressed Chinese people. Chirac said a photo of him with Deng Xiaoping was the "best and most precious gift" – something that was appreciated by Chinese netizens, who also have great respect for Deng.

More than half of the Chinese netizens are in their 20s and 30s. For most, Chirac may be one of the first foreign leaders they got to know. The kindness and respect he had shown to China and Chinese people have deeply moved them.

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