Beijing, Paris envision high-level exchanges, teamwork

Head-of-state diplomacy, pragmatic cooperation and collaboration on global affairs are among the key highlights from the 23rd China-France Strategic Dialogue on Thursday.

Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, co-chaired the dialogue with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron, in Paris on Thursday, local time.

On the day of Wang's arrival in France, Wednesday, the French side decided to lift the entry restrictions on travelers from China.

Wang welcomed the decision, stressing that "the move is conducive to promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between the two countries".

During the dialogue, both sides "agreed on the special importance of ensuring the sound, stable development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and France," according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.

The two sides agreed to give full play to navigating the role of head-of-state diplomacy, strengthening strategic communication, consolidating political mutual trust and deepening practical cooperation.

The two countries agreed to jointly address global challenges, inject new momentum into China-EU relations and introduce stability to the world.

Wang said that China-France strategic cooperation "should be standing out from similar collaboration with other countries and lead the development trend of the times", which is necessary for the development of bilateral relations and is also part of the responsibility China and France must undertake as major countries.

Entering the post-pandemic era, China is willing to resume as soon as possible its three major institutional dialogues with France on strategy, finance and cultural exchanges respectively, Wang said.

China is willing to strengthen cooperation in areas such as civil-use nuclear energy, aerospace, medical and health, agriculture and food, tourism, culture as well as third party markets, yielding more achievements in their two-way relations, he added.

Beijing is willing to work with Paris to plan on the following high-level exchanges and the commemorative activities for next year as it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, he noted.

Bonne said he agrees with the Chinese side's vision for the next phase of cooperation between the two countries and he looks forward to new progress in cooperation in various fields.

France is willing to participate actively in the next Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, he said.

Paris is willing to coordinate more closely with Beijing in international affairs and cooperate to achieve common development goals, he said.

The two sides also exchanged views on the global debt issue, climate change, biodiversity, food security and the Ukraine crisis, and they reached wide-ranging consensus.