Technology helps build ties across continents

France has consistently been one of China's most important sources of technology, and with common goals, the partnership will continue to develop in a comprehensive way, said an expert on the China-France relationship.

"China had learned from the Western world, including France for more than 100 years in the processes of modernization and industrialization, and has narrowed the gap in the past 30 years," said Wang Liqiang, secretary-general of the Chinese Association for French Studies.

Over the past decades, Chinese people find French products, brands and technologies "in nearly every aspect of their lives, from traditional manufacturing, textile and chemical industry to high-tech sectors, such as electronics, nuclear, aerospace and biotechnology", Wang said.