China, France agree to strengthen bilateral cooperation

BEIJING - Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua held a phone conversation with French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Jan 5 with both sides pledging to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields.

President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, had five telephone conversations last year in which they reached broad consensus on developing China-France relations and deepening cooperation in various fields, said Hu, who leads the Chinese delegation to China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue.

China is ready to work with France to earnestly implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, well plan and implement key tasks of China-France cooperation in the coming period, he said.

Hu also expressed China's willingness to further strengthen anti-epidemic cooperation with France, deepen cooperation in finance, agriculture and other fields, and actively expand new areas of cooperation such as green economy and digital economy.

For his part, Le Maire said pragmatic cooperation between China and France in various fields has maintained a sound momentum.

France is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China to deepen cooperation in such areas as economy and trade, investment, aviation, scientific and technological innovation, so as to promote the continuous development of the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.