Resilience of Sino-French economic ties hailed

China and France have pledged to deepen their economic cooperation to foster shared prosperity, as emphasized by President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron at the closing ceremony of the seventh meeting of the China-France Business Council on Thursday in Beijing.

This marked the third consecutive time that Xi and Macron attended the meeting's closing ceremony. In 2018, the two leaders jointly witnessed the establishment of the business council in Beijing.

In his address on Thursday, Xi noted that economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has been continuously expanding and demonstrating greater resilience. He stressed that China and France should respond to uncertainties in today's world with the stability of the bilateral ties.

In the first 10 months of this year, bilateral trade reached $68.75 billion, and cumulative two-way investment exceeded $27 billion.

Highlighting that China views France as a vital and indispensable economic and trade partner, Xi welcomed France's active participation in the Chinese modernization process and expressed support for capable and willing Chinese enterprises investing and developing their businesses in France.

He called for deeper collaboration in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, the green and digital economies, biomedicine and the silver economy.

The two sides should continue to promote open cooperation in industrial and supply chains, and provide a fair, transparent, nondiscriminatory and predictable business environment for companies from both countries, he added.

Macron, in his speech, emphasized the importance of predictability in the bilateral relations, which he described as rooted in mutual understanding and trust.

He highlighted France as the most attractive European country for foreign investment, and expressed willingness to welcome more Chinese investment and more Chinese projects, particularly those aligned with France's reindustrialization strategy.

On China-Europe ties, Xi noted that the essence of the economic relations between China and the European Union is complementary strengths, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation. The bilateral economic ties can achieve dynamic balance in the course of development. Interdependence is not a risk, and intertwined interests are not a threat, he said.

He called for China and France to work together to advance the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership and help usher in a brighter next 50 years for China-EU relations.

Macron underscored that the Sino-French relationship "lies at the heart of what we wish to build between China and Europe at a very sensitive moment in international affairs".

Around 150 officials and business leaders from both China and France attended the meeting. They voiced strong confidence in the partnership and emphasized that mutual commitment to open cooperation and a level playing field is key to unlocking shared growth and navigating global uncertainties.

Yu Yuantang, director of the European affairs department at China's Ministry of Commerce, said that China and France exhibit deep complementarity, which spans industrial structure, technological innovation and market resources, and represents a synergy that extends from traditional sectors into emerging fields.

Leveraging their strengths and exploring third-party markets are key for the two nations to achieve mutual benefits and shared prosperity, he added.

Pan Jian, co-chairman of Chinese battery giant CATL, described Europe, particularly France, as a crucial partner in green energy development due to its market scale, industrial capacity and talent pool. He expressed hope that the EU would continue offering a level playing field for Chinese enterprises.

Christian Gianella, minister counselor for economic affairs at the French embassy in China, said that China's recommendations for its next five-year plan align with the "France 2030" investment plan, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence, boding well for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two nations.

Jean Lemierre, chairman of BNP Paribas, said: "French companies are committed to contributing to China's development, particularly through technological innovation. We seek to share in the opportunities presented by China's progress and warmly welcome more Chinese enterprises to invest in France."

Contact the writers at jihaisheng@chinadaily.com.cn