Breakfast treat: croissants, coffee and China Daily

New edition marks the first foray of the most-cited Chinese newspaper into a major non-English-speaking country

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Chinese Ambassador to France Zhai Jun, meeting in Rouen, France, on June 12, celebrated the first French issue of China Watch in partnership with the French daily newspaper Le Figaro.

Zhai Jun said China Daily and Le Figaro have set a good example in media collaboration. "I found there was great potential to explore media collaboration after both sides celebrated their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations last year," Zhai said.

Last month, China Daily launched the new French product, a version of China Watch, a special monthly report prepared by China Daily. China Watch is already published in English in the United States and the United Kingdom, in conjunction with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Telegraph.

The French edition represents the first time China Daily has published in a non-English-speaking European country.

The publication has been well received by readers interested in learning more about China through China Daily's original reporting. The two-page debut issue of China Watch in French covered China's efforts to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and the country's new Made in China 2025 action plan, which aims to improve the country's manufacturing capability and competitiveness.

Zhu Ling, publisher of China Daily Group, said: "I am delighted to offer our French readers an opportunity to read and know more about China in their own language.

"I am equally pleased that we are partnering with a leading newspaper like Le Figaro in our endeavor to reach out more to French people," he said.

Hinting there would be more China Daily content in other languages as well, Zhu said: "Our mission is to take China to the world. Of course, we have been very successful in English for more than three decades. We have made a beginning in French; we now want to expand."

Le Figaro, founded in 1826, is published in Paris and is France's oldest newspaper. China Daily publishes its European Weekly, in English, in 25 European countries.

The French edition also was welcomed by high-level government officials and experts in both countries.

Fabius offered his congratulations at the launch to Ji Tao, assistant editor-in-chief of China Daily Group and editor of China Daily Europe, and said he believes the French version of China Watch will be successful and become a bridge linking France and China.

"We very much appreciate Minister Fabius' presence today," Ji said. "With such tremendous encouragement, China Daily will be working hard with French partners to deepen understanding between China and France, China and Europe."

David Gosset, director of the Euro-China Forum and founder of the New Silk Road Initiative, said China Daily both illustrates and explains China's global views for the future.

"The Chinese renaissance is arguably our world's most significant factor of change," he said. "It is therefore of the highest importance to have global public opinion better informed on the Chinese dynamics and their external implications."

Zhang Xiuqin, ambassador for the Permanent Delegation of the People's Republic of China to UNESCO, said the French version's launch meets a need for media working together.

"UNESCO has been advocating international cooperation and exchange in the media industry. We believe that the communication between media is an important way to carry out the dialogue among civilizations to promote cultural diversity," Zhang said.

Ji said that to redouble his group's efforts and social responsibility in protecting the planet, China Daily European Weekly has been running a weekly special Climate Watch feature since December, focusing on the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December.

China Daily is also one of the 25 founding members of the Climate Publishers Network, a global syndication platform allowing members to open climate coverage resources to other members at no charge.

(China Daily European Weekly 06/19/2015 page16)