France, China committed to growing ties from global perspective: former French PM

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 60 years ago, France has been viewing China as an essential partner in resolving global challenges and both sides have committed to developing ties from a global perspective, former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius has said.

Noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Fabius, now president of the Constitutional Council, recalled that France became the first major Western country to recognize the People's Republic of China in 1964.

"It was extremely audacious and positive, in 1964, for General de Gaulle's France to be the first major Western country to recognize China," he made the remarks in a recent interview with Xinhua.

He expounded on three aspects of the special friendship between the two countries.

First, France and China are both very attached to independence. "It's something key in the developing world."

Second, both countries are committed to multilateralism and peace. "We do not want a bloc policy, with the risks of conflicts that this entails."

Third, France and China are both great civilizations with very advanced technology, and both are permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The relationship has been deeply rooted in exchanges between the two peoples, Fabius said, reminiscing about his days in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin and the Nankai University in the city and his efforts in promoting the cooperation between France's Normandy and Tianjin, while he was president of the Agglomeration Community of Rouen-Elbeuf-Austreberthe from 2008 to 2012.

"There is no better way than for men and women to come together, to exchange ideas, for students to exchange ideas and that the work be done together, the cultural work, the economic work, the environmental work," he said.

During the years, despite differences on some issues, France and China have attached great importance to developing bilateral relations and cementing their friendship from a global perspective, he stressed.

He urged both sides to continue charting "a reasonable path, a path of modernization, a path of balance," and to keep in mind such key words as "cooperation, multilateralism, sustainable development."

Fabius chaired the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference (COP21), which established the framework for the Paris Agreement, the first universal agreement to fight climate change.

Calling for multilateral efforts against climate change, he warned that eight years on, the world isn't on track to meet its target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees increase.

"You have seen the extreme heat, the rains, the famines, the damage of all kinds, the problems of pollution, health. This is an absolutely major point and we can only address multilaterally," said Fabius.

Optimistic about the future of Franco-Chinese relations, he said, "I come back to our starting point, in this dangerous world of ours, there must be powers of peace and sustainable development, and this must obviously be, beyond our differences, a major mission of China and France."

(With input from Xinhua)