Chinese Web users ponder feelings about France

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-11 07:42

Chinese netizens eyed the olive branch offered by Paris with cautious optimism as former French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin is visiting the country to mend soured bilateral relations.

"Maybe they have made some progress. This time Raffarin didn't insist (French President Nicolas) Sarkozy had the right to meet the Dalai Lama," a Web user with the online handle "Maybe" posted on chinadaily.com.cn.

Last year, the disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in Paris and the French President Nicolas Sarkozy's meeting with the Dalai Lama had tested many Chinese people's patience.

The percentage of Chinese who viewed France favorably had dropped from 64 percent to a record low of 44 percent, according to a BBC World Service poll of more than 13,000 people in 21 countries and regions in December and January.

Raffarin will meet extensively with senior Chinese diplomats and businesspeople in four cities in the hope of salvaging the country's image in China.

"The Chinese government values France as a partner, and the Chinese people treat France as a friend, but how to mend the damaged ties is a big issue here," Fannie, a reader who works for a French company in Beijing, wrote on a question list for Raffarin on ifeng.com.

By 7:30 pm yesterday, more than 8,000 netizens had commented on a Sina.com story that quoted Raffarin as saying Sarkozy is willing to meet Chinese leaders.

"The French administration and Sarkozy should not see China as a credit card that they can overdraw freely at their will," a reader from Shaanxi province posted Tuesday.