China, France oppose ‘decoupling and breaking the chain’

China and France vowed to work together to avoid “decoupling and breaking the chain” as the two foreign ministers met in Beijing on Thursday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held talks with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, calling on the two sides to demonstrate their responsibility as major powers, practice multilateralism and oppose unilateralism.

In the face of profound changes in the international landscape, both sides should choose dialogue over confrontation, win-win cooperation over decoupling and breaking the chain, and push the global governance system toward a more just and reasonable direction, Wang said.

The world should never be allowed to become a jungle where the strong prey on the weak, Wang said, urging the two sides to strengthen strategic coordination and support each other’s major multilateral concepts and ideas.

For his part, Barrot said the importance of the France-China relationship has become even more pronounced in the current international situation with increased uncertainty and rising protectionism.

France has always regarded China as an important partner, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is committed to developing future-oriented, long-term and stable France-China relations, he told Wang.

It is necessary for both sides to strengthen strategic coordination and play the role of maintaining world peace and stability, Barrot said, adding that France supports free trade, is not in favor of decoupling and breaking the chain, and opposes a trade war.

After the meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement on coping with climate change, in which China and France vowed to enhance international cooperation on the issue and uphold multilateralism while firmly supporting the Paris Agreement.

Deepening high-quality cooperation

Wang told Barrot that China regards France as a priority partner in realizing high-quality development and is willing to deepen cooperation in traditional fields, encourage mutual investment, expand cooperation in emerging fields, and give new momentum to Sino-French cooperation.

Barrot positively assessed the results of practical cooperation between France and China, noting that the French side is willing to transcend differences and disagreements through high-quality dialogues, develop equal and mutually beneficial cooperation, expand two-way investment and enrich people-to-people exchanges.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Wang said China and France will hold three high-level dialogues on strategic, economic, financial and cultural issues this year.

Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in agriculture, nuclear energy, aviation, and aerospace while exploring innovative industries, such as artificial intelligence, digital economy, intelligent connected vehicles, green hydrogen, and biomanufacturing, Wang told reporters.

He added that the Chinese side will encourage more capable and willing Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in France.

On China-EU relations

The two also exchanged views on China-EU relations. Wang said China and the EU have more cooperation than competition, more consensus than differences, and it is entirely possible to develop a better relationship.

China firmly supports European integration and backs the EU’s pursuit of strategic autonomy, Wang said, voicing the hope that the European side will work together with China to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the EU as an opportunity to properly resolve differences, carry out mutually beneficial cooperation, and work together to open up new prospects for China-EU relations.

Barrot said that France supports dialogue between Europe and China to resolve trade disputes through negotiations.