China and France should jointly maintain the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, strengthen cooperation on innovation, and foster a sound business environment, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday.
Premier Li made the three-point proposal on China-France cooperation when delivering a speech at a dinner with the Chinese and French business communities in Paris.
Li said interdependence is an inevitable result of economic globalization, and the sound political mutual trust between China and France enables the two countries to see stability, certainty, and common development opportunities in their interdependence, rather than risks.
On jointly maintaining the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, Li expressed admiration for the French government’s opposition to bloc confrontations, decoupling as well as severing industrial and supply chains.
It is hoped that Chinese and French entrepreneurs will firmly support economic globalization, take action for open and win-win cooperation, and jointly maintain the stability and resilience of the industrial and supply chains between China and France as well as between China and Europe, Li added.
On strengthening China-France cooperation on innovation, Li said in recent years, China-France technological exchanges in medicine, new energy batteries, semiconductors and other fields have produced many innovative achievements, adding that looking ahead, the two sides still boast great potential for cooperation in areas including high-end manufacturing, modern services, green transformation and digital economy.
The two sides should strengthen innovation and technological cooperation between their enterprises to provide new driving forces and foster new growth points for China-France cooperation, said the Chinese premier.
On fostering a sound business environment, Li said China will unswervingly deepen reform, expand opening up, and further ease market access in the modern service sector and others.
China will steadily promote institutional opening up that covers rules, regulations, management and standards, said Li, adding that China will step up intellectual property rights protection, foster a market-oriented, world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign companies in China in accordance with the law.
Li hopes that the French side will keep its market open, and build a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.
Li welcomed French enterprises to actively participate in the China International Import Expo to further explore the Chinese market.
He encouraged entrepreneurs from both countries to strengthen confidence, seize opportunities and make joint efforts to achieve greater development and promote steady and long-term cooperation between China and France and between China and Europe.
