Pep talk with entrepreneurs a fillip

President fetes Chinese economic performance and calls for more investment in France

French President Francois Hollande, who visited China on Nov 2 and 3, is likely to have returned home a little more optimistic about his country's economic prospects after talking to top entrepreneurs in China, who expressed strong interest in his country and signed favorable deals with its businesses.

The European economy is recovering because investment and growth are returning and the euro has become more stable, Hollande told Chinese business leaders at a breakfast seminar hosted by the China Entrepreneur Club in Beijing on Nov 3.

"France is one of the eurozone countries that has been building a more flexible and open monetary system to help some eurozone nations to adjust their economic policies," said Hollande, whose visit came days after that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to China and President Xi Jinping's trip to Britain from Oct 19 to 23.

Hollande said foreign investment had been growing impressively, and he called for Chinese investors to continue to invest more in France, especially in innovative and green industries.

"I can feel the vitality of the Chinese economy from Chinese entrepreneurs' global vision and strategy," he said.

"Not a single door is closed against" Chinese investors and "no sovereignty issue comes between us" in terms of business exchanges, as France believes sustainable Chinese investment will give it more vitality, he said.

Hollande's audience included business figures such as, Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, which has recently set up a representative office in Paris; Guo Guangchang, chairman of investment group Fosun, which took over the French resort chain Club Med for $1.3 billion in January; and Liu Chuanzhi, founder of the computer company Lenovo, the products of which can be found in homes throughout France.

"Club Med is the longest, toughest and at the same time happiest acquisition in my life," Guo says.

"The acquisition has convinced me that France is an open and transparent market and shows no bias against private companies like ours."

About 200 Chinese companies operate in France, creating more than 20,000 jobs, and 3,000 French companies employ more than 500,000 people in China, Hollande said.

He also met President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing to explore how the two countries can work together to make the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, which begins on Nov 30, a success.

Xi and Hollande issued a joint statement on climate change on Nov 2, vowing to push an ambitious and "legally binding" agreement in Paris based on equity, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

The 12-day conference is widely expected to result in a global and binding agreement on tackling climate change.

The two presidents witnessed the signing of 17 documents covering collaboration in areas including energy, aerospace and electricity.

In a meeting with Hollande, Li said the two sides should build demonstration projects together in green industries to tap third-party markets.

Collaboration in third-party markets is a pioneering and innovative move for deepening South-North cooperation and is conducive to global economic recovery, Li said.

He noted the positive progress Chinese and French companies have made in third-party market collaboration and urged both sides to continue on this course.

During Xi's visit to Britain last month, Chinese and French companies signed an agreement to build an 18 billion pound ($27.8 billion; 25.4 billion euros) nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C, with a Chinese consortium holding a one-third stake.

China and France also plan to work together on two British nuclear projects, one at Sizewell in Suffolk and the other at Bradwell in Essex.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

suqiang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 11/06/2015 page19)