France has consistently been one of China's most important sources of technology, and with common goals, the partnership will continue to develop in a comprehensive way, said an expert on the China-France relationship.

"China had learned from the Western world, including France for more than 100 years in the processes of modernization and industrialization, and has narrowed the gap in the past 30 years," said Wang Liqiang, secretary-general of the Chinese Association for French Studies.

Over the past decades, Chinese people find French products, brands and technologies "in nearly every aspect of their lives, from traditional manufacturing, textile and chemical industry to high-tech sectors, such as electronics, nuclear, aerospace and biotechnology", Wang said.

On the other hand, he noted that with China continuously improving its industrial structure and global competence over the recent decades, its home-developed products are increasingly attractive to French companies and people.

"The future relationship between China and France will highlight innovation," he said. "We must integrate the Chinese-style understanding about life to work out problems brought about by the urbanization process."

Wang called both China and France "nations of farmers", explaining that three generations ago most people in China were farmers, and so it is for France.

"The modernization process started later in China than in France, but the basis as a nation of farmers is the same," he said.

He noted that cultural relations between the two nations can be traced back long before.

"Ancient China enlightened Europe when it was under the dark religious control in the Middle Ages," he said.

"The traditional Chinese culture was one of the sparks that lit the fire of the Renaissance."

"China, as an atheist nation and the strongest power in the world at that time, inspired and encouraged the earliest Enlightenment thinkers in Europe."

The Chinese President Xi Jinping will make speeches during his visit to Europe, which provides an opportunity to explain the "Chinese dream" and show the world what Chinese people have achieved over the past three decades, Wang said.

The Chinese people "have chosen, and are marching on, a development path that is distinct from what French people did", he said.

"To win respect from the West, we must be first of all be confident enough to declare that we are different."

Despite differences in the development models of the two countries in the post-industrialized age, there is still something in common in the concept, including the idea of sustainability, Wang said.

Wang said the China-France partnership has come to a "new stage" that is not only important for the two countries, but also influential in the global scale.

"As France is one of the main driving engines of the European economy, an improved China-France relationship will lead to an improved China-Europe relationship," he said. "It will be an example of promoting the partnership between two continents."

Contact the writers at [email protected] and [email protected].

(China Daily 03/26/2014 page18)