President Xi Jinping holds talks with French President Emmanuel Macron

On the afternoon of May 6 local time, President Xi Jinping held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace in Paris.

President Xi expressed joy at paying his third state visit to France on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of China-French relations. The precious 60-year journey of Sino-French relations will better enlighten us on how to approach the next 60 years. As the world undergoes an unprecedented transformation in a century, both sides must remain committed to independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision and mutual benefit, which represent the spirit that has guided the establishment of their diplomatic relations. They must also enrich it with the novelties of the new era, build Sino-French relations in the new era characterized by mutual trust, stability, commitment to fundamental principles while innovating and a strong sense of responsibility. Both sides must preserve their independence and jointly prevent a new Cold War or new bloc confrontation; they must continue to understand each other and jointly promote harmonious coexistence in a colorful world; they must take a long-term view and work together for an equal and orderly multipolar world; and they should pursue win-win cooperation and jointly oppose the decoupling and cutting of supply chains.

President Xi stressed that China is willing to maintain strategic communication with France, respect each other's core interests, consolidate the strategic stability of bilateral relations, unleash the great potential of mutually beneficial cooperation, and work for an ascending balance in bilateral trade. China is willing to import more high-quality products from France and enable the French farm-to-Chinese dining table mechanism to produce more practical results. He also expressed hope that France would export more high-tech products with high added value to China. The two sides should better synergize their development strategies, deepen cooperation in traditional areas of strength such as aerospace and aviation, intensify cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, innovation and finance, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as green energy, smart manufacturing and biomedicine. and artificial intelligence (AI). China has fully opened up its manufacturing sector and will accelerate its expansion of market access in the service sector such as telecommunications and medical services. China welcomes investment from more French enterprises and also hopes that France will provide a good business environment and stable development expectations for Chinese enterprises' investment and cooperation in France.

President Xi stressed that China and France, as major countries with rich culture, should accelerate people-to-people exchanges, continue to hold successful events, including the China Year of Culture and Tourism. -France, and actively promote cooperation in joint protection and restoration. cultural heritage and twinning between world heritage sites. China welcomes the visit of more French friends and will extend the short-stay visa waiver policy for citizens of 12 countries, of which France, until the end of 2025, will bring the total number of French students in China to more than 10,000 and will double this number. young Europeans participating in exchange programs in China over the next three years. China supports France in organizing the major Olympic Games in Paris 2024, to which China will send a strong delegation. China is ready to deepen cooperation with France in areas such as climate response and biodiversity. China supports France in successfully organizing a United Nations Ocean Conference and encourages partnerships between relevant national parks and nature reserves of the two countries. China is also willing to increase dialogue and communication with France in areas such as AI governance and international financial system reform.

President Macron noted that France and China will celebrate the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations this year. The two countries enjoy friendly relations and productive cooperation regarding not only cutting-edge technologies, but also global issues such as climate change and marine biodiversity. During President Xi's visit, the two sides signed numerous cooperation agreements, which once again demonstrated the potential and prospects of French-Chinese cooperation. The world faces many pressing challenges today, and the deep and rich relations between France and China are at a critical juncture where they must build on the past and look to the future. Both sides, through mutual respect, a long-term perspective and enhanced cooperation, will play an important and positive role in addressing global challenges and opposing any logic of bloc confrontation. France wishes to maintain closer economic ties, multilateral communication and collaboration with China, and work for more results in the France-China strategic partnership. France hopes to export more agricultural products to China. At the same time, it will continue to open its market to China and will not adopt discriminatory policies against Chinese companies. France welcomes investments and cooperation from more Chinese companies, particularly high-tech companies. France is ready to intensify cooperation with China in areas such as aerospace and aviation, as well as civil nuclear energy, and jointly organize the Franco-Chinese Year of Culture and Tourism . France welcomes a Chinese delegation to the Paris Olympic Games. France is willing to maintain close communication and cooperation with China on global issues such as climate change, biodiversity protection and AI, and jointly uphold multilateralism, the UN Charter and international law .

The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of common concern, including the Ukrainian crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

President Xi stressed that today's world is far from peaceful. China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council, should speak out for the peaceful settlement of sensitive issues and contribute to a world of lasting peace and common security. China will work with France to advocate, on the occasion of the Paris Olympic Games, a cessation of hostilities around the world during the Games.

The two sides issued four joint statements on the situation in the Middle East, on AI and global governance, on biodiversity and oceans, and on agricultural trade and cooperation. Nearly 20 bilateral cooperation documents were signed in areas such as green development, aviation, agri-food, trade and people-to-people exchanges.

After their meeting, Presidents Xi and Macron held a joint meeting with the press.

In the evening, President Emmanuel Macron and Madame Brigitte Macron hosted a welcome banquet for President Xi Jinping and Madame Peng Liyuan at the Elysées.

Cai Qi and Wang Yi, among others, were present at the events.