China, France officials vow to further boost economic, financial ties

PARIS - Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai and French Finance Minister Michel Sapin have co-chaired the fourth China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue.

During the event on Monday, both sides conducted exchanges on working together to promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth and to bolster cooperation in trade, investment, industry and finance.

Ma stressed the importance of the high-level dialogue which coincided with a critical period in Europe, adding that economic and financial pragmatic cooperation is a pillar of the Chinese-French relations.

The event aimed to implement the consensus reached by both countries' leaders and the outcome of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, and also to plan the next steps in bilateral economic and financial cooperation, he said.

Ma said China is willing to strengthen economic and financial cooperation with France with respect and in the interest of both sides and to further promote their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Moreover, he expressed hope that France would continue to have an important influence in the European Union (EU) in terms of urging the EU to fulfill its obligations under Article 15 of the Protocol on China's Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a timely, full and clear manner.

For his part, the French minister recalled that this dialogue, a mechanism established in 2013, has allowed both sides to exchange in a spirit of respect and understanding of the other and contributed to the development of bilateral relations.

France is willing to reinforce cooperation with China in nuclear energy, finance, investment, trade and agriculture, as well to work together to explore third markets, according to Sapin.

He said the French side supports the European Union in respecting its international obligations, including those under Article 15 of the Protocol on China's Accession to the WTO.

Following this year's edition of the high level dialogue, both countries decided to continue to promote bilateral trade, and to expand their efforts to boost trade in fields of medicine, care and services for the elderly, food processing and environmental protection.

They also agreed to seek synergy between both countries' development strategies and to increase investment cooperation in major projects in the nuclear power, automotive and aerospace sectors, in addition to simplifying mechanisms of bilateral investment.

China and France also pledged to set up a steering committee and to strengthen their collaboration in exploring third markets.

As for financial activities, both countries agreed to deepen their collaboration in bonds, green finance and financial supervision.

Moreover, both sides vowed to work more closely together on international economic issues by improving communication between the two countries under multilateral frameworks and to well implement the consensus reached during the G20 Hangzhou summit.