French firms urged to seize opportunities

According to Xi, the China-France relationship has always been a pacesetter for relations between China and Western countries.

"It shows how countries with different cultures, systems and development levels can help each other succeed and make progress together," he said, adding that the China-France friendship is in the best interest of the Chinese and French peoples as well as in the interest of the whole world.

Noting that China and Europe are two major markets promoting globalization, Xi said China will work with France to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides.

He called on the two sides to continue to enhance political mutual trust, remove various distractions, and jointly oppose attempts to turn business relations into political, ideological or security issues.

"We should turn China and Europe into each other's key partners for business cooperation, priority partners for cooperation in science and technology, and trustworthy partners for cooperation in industrial and supply chains," he said, adding that China will open its market wider to create more opportunities for companies from France, Europe and beyond.

Around 200 government officials and entrepreneurs from both countries participated in the meeting.

Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of Danone, who attended the meeting on Monday, said that as China advances its high-quality development agenda and nurtures new quality productive forces, French enterprises like Danone have found fertile ground for growth.

"The high-level exchanges have painted a promising blueprint for the future development of China-France relations, which is truly inspiring," he said, adding that he expects the two countries' partnership to generate new opportunities in the future.

mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn