Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with his French counterpart Manuel Valls in Paris on June 30. (CNSPHOTO)
Climate change talks
In the course of U.S. President Barack Obama's China visit last November, China and the United States agreed to strengthen cooperation in addressing global climate change issues and announced that the United States would cut its 2005 level of carbon emissions by 26-28 percent before the year 2025. Meanwhile, China promised to ensure that its carbon dioxide emissions peak around 2030 and to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 20 percent by the same year.
During Premier Li's latest European trip, China and the EU also issued a joint statement on climate change to enhance cooperation in the uphill battle. According to the joint statement, both sides agreed to promote cooperation on climate change and develop a cost-effective, low-carbon economy while maintaining robust economic growth.
They also reached a consensus with regard to further enhancing policy dialogue and pragmatic cooperation on the two sides' transformation into resource-efficient, green, low-carbon and climate-resilient economies and societies.
Meanwhile, China and the EU will establish low-carbon partnership between the cities of both sides, promote dialogue and cooperation on their domestic mitigation policies for climate change and enhance collaboration in climate-related scientific research and technology innovation.
The 2015 UN Climate Conference will be held in Paris, a city which is at present trying to enhance the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
When visiting Paris, Premier Li announced that Beijing has formulated a document concerning its voluntary actions on cutting emissions by 2030 and submitted it to the UN Climate Change Secretariat. In the document, China made the promise regarding its carbon emissions.
China's stance was welcomed by the United States and EU countries. Observers said that China is trying its best to contribute to the breakthrough of the climate conference.
Zou Ji, Deputy Director General of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation of China, said that it is in fact very hard for China to commit to such an ambitious emission reduction plan owing to the pressure imposed by the current economic downturn. He speculated that China has surely given more consideration to international factors when making this decision.
Pragmatic cooperation
Since François Hollande took office as French president in 2012, China-France cooperation has entered a stage characterized by stable and pragmatic cooperation. Last year, bilateral ties were lifted to a close and lasting comprehensive strategic partnership when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a historic visit to France on the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Zhou Tanhao, a researcher in the field of French studies with the CICIR, said Premier Li's French visit this time mainly aims to enrich Sino-French strategic partnership and to further enhance bilateral cooperation.
During the premier's visit, the two sides agreed to consolidate cooperation in the joint exploration of third-party markets and in the promotion of China-France nuclear energy cooperation, innovation cooperation as well as cooperation in economy and trade, agriculture, finance and aerospace. Premier Li's trip has also saw the inking of a deal between China and France on the purchase of 45 Airbus A330 passenger planes.
Zhou noted that while nuclear energy, aviation and space are fields in which the two sides have traditionally cooperated, the new agreement reached in these areas is of strategic significance aiming at all-production-chain cooperation.
According to Zhou, China's Belt and Road Initiative requires partners to jointly explore third-party markets, which represent an entirely new growth area for China-France bilateral cooperation.
France's status in Europe as well as its historical ties with Middle Eastern and African countries puts it in a good position to play such a role. Meanwhile, Hollande's China policy as well as the current French economic situation all augur well for deepening China-France cooperative ties.
Since taking office, Hollande has adopted a friendly policy toward China. Bilateral political and economic relations have been developing speedily. In recent years, a high-level exchange of visits has become a frequent occurrence. In addition to President Xi's visit to Paris in March 2014, French Premier Manuel Valls visited Beijing this January, and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has visited China about 10 times since the beginning of 2014. Zhou told Beijing Review that it is foreseeable that under the Hollande administration, China-France relations will progress more smoothly.
