The following is an article from People’s Daily Online. It informs the reader about French President Jacques Chirac’s visit to China, meeting in Beijing with Chinese President Hu Jintao. The talks dealt with the issue of strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries. As the article puts it “He [President Hu] proposed to strengthen Sino-French economic and trade ties through cooperation in aviation, spaceflight, transportation, nuclear energy, high-tech industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, agriculture and environmental protection.” What struck me is that the Chinese are looking to France for help in dealing with its serious environmental issues. The article also mentions Chirac’s travel to the Sichuan province of China, showing France’s interest in investing in one of the poorer, rural regions of China.
See the article here.