China is ready to work with France to advance balanced development of bilateral trade, expand two-way market access and seek greater mutual benefit, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday in a meeting with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne in Paris.

The two sides should also tap the potential for cooperation in fields including green development, science and technology innovation and digital trade, Li said.

2024 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France and the Sino-French Cultural Tourism Year, and Paris will host the 2024 Olympics. The Chinese premier called on the two sides to take these opportunities to create a new climax of bilateral people-to-people exchanges.

Li told Borne that both China and France adhere to independence and are committed to maintaining a balanced and stable international order and promoting world peace and development.

"My visit to France is to work with the French side to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state and promote the high-level development of Sino-French relations," Premier Li said.

Noting that China and France have played an important leading role in promoting communication and collaboration to address global challenges in recent years, Li said China is willing to continue to strengthen cooperation with France on climate, food, debt and other issues and support each other in global affairs.

He called for joint efforts to implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and  to contribute to the world's long-term stability, stability and prosperity.

China has always regarded the EU as an important pole in the multipolar world, Li said, adding that strengthening cooperation between China and Europe is a strategic choice based on their respective interests, which are not targeted at, dependent on, or subjected to third parties.

The Chinese premier voiced the hope that the French side will continue to play a positive role in promoting a more objective and rational European perception and policy toward China and advocate the main theme of "win-win cooperation" between China and Europe.

For her part, Borne said the EU adheres to strategic autonomy and does not support decoupling or severing supply chains.

France will not take discriminative measures against Chinese companies and welcomes their investments, Borne told her Chinese counterpart.

She added that France is willing to participate in China's high-quality development and appreciates China's continued positive signal of expanding opening-up.

After their talks, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents in the fields of aviation, space research and nuclear energy.