Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets French President Emmanuel Macron

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Beijing.

As two major global economies and permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, China and France maintaining close strategic communication and carrying out coordinated, effective actions not only benefits their joint development but also injects greater stability and certainty into today's turbulent and complex world, Li said. 

He stated that China is willing to continue working with France to carry forward the traditional friendship, consolidate political mutual trust, strengthen all-round cooperation and promote the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

China and France, as long-term important economic and trade partners, have strong economic complementarity, many aligned interests and a solid cooperation foundation, Li said, adding that further tightening economic and trade ties can generate greater development synergy and jointly promote prosperity.

He said China is willing to work with France to align development strategies, expand bilateral openness, strengthen cooperation in traditional areas like aviation, aerospace and civil nuclear energy, and accelerate cooperation in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, green development and the silver economy.

China supports Chinese enterprises investing in France and hopes France provides a fair and non-discriminatory business environment, Li said. 

Noting that unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, and international economic and trade frictions are increasing, Li said there is greater need today for timely communication, deepened understanding, seeking common ground while reserving differences and taking practical actions to properly address each other's legitimate concerns. 

Li also expressed hopes that France will encourage the EU to uphold the China-EU partnership, implement the consensus already reached, focus on cooperation, properly manage differences and maintain the right direction of China-EU relations. China is willing to work with France to firmly uphold free trade and economic globalization, he added.

Macron congratulated China on its remarkable economic and social achievements in recent years and welcomed China's continued economic growth. 

With China's rapid technological innovation and leading positions in many fields, France is willing to strengthen exchanges and dialogue at all levels, expand bilateral openness and mutual investment, deepen cooperation in trade, agriculture, aerospace, aviation, civil nuclear energy and renewable energy, and jointly explore third-party markets, he said. 

France is also willing to strengthen collaboration with China to safeguard free trade and the multilateral trading system and promote reforms and improvements in the global governance system, Macron added.