France pushes for closer ties

Chinese President Xi Jinping's coming visit to France will be a significant opportunity for Beijing and Paris to strengthen the personal ties of their top leaders and to highlight major elements of the Sino-French partnership, a senior French diplomat says.

The main priorities of the meeting between Xi and President Francois Hollande are expected to be strengthening political dialogue, rebalancing economic relations and encouraging more exchanges between private organizations and individuals, says Martine Aubry, the French Foreign Ministry's special representative for the partnership with China.

Aubry says mutual trust is the most important requirement for France and China to strengthen bilateral relations.

"This climate of trust must be maintained through high-quality political dialogue between the leaders of our two countries. We must avoid ambiguity and misunderstandings and maintain a stable, tranquil relationship, which is what our two presidents have set about doing."

Aubry says reforms being carried out by China's top leadership and the country's growing influence in international affairs will continue to create momentum in working with Europe.

"We regard China's rapid development in recent years as a fantastic opportunity to increase cooperation in all sectors and together to tackle major global issues."

She identifies three major challenges for China: the quality and safety of its food, sustainable urban development and healthcare. These are areas in which China and France should work more closely, she says.

"No one can remain indifferent to the impressive change that China has undergone. Personally, I want to understand how this shift took place and how China will tackle the new challenges facing it."

A frequent traveler to China and an admirer of Chinese civilization, Aubry has observed the country's reforms closely since she was appointed the French Foreign Ministry's special representative after Hollande was elected president in May 2012.

Before that, she served as the first secretary of the French Socialist Party from 2008 to 2012. She is also the mayor of Lille, the largest city in northern France. She is the daughter of Jacques Delors, a former president of the European Commission.

"The emergence of China is an opportunity," she says. "Its growing role in the international arena and in global governance goes hand in hand with the new responsibilities that France has been encouraging it to assume.

"In fact, China has stepped up to its responsibilities by continually increasing its involvement in the United Nations."

Beijing and Paris should work more closely together in dealing with international issues given that both sides are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, she says.

She also says that strengthening Sino-French economic relations must start with an analysis of each other's needs.

"We must look beyond the traditional strategic sectors of nuclear energy and aeronautics and update our understanding of the needs of Chinese consumers and the sectors where French companies can satisfy Chinese demand."

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