Positive signs for Sino-French ties

France will continue to have a good relationship with China, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former French prime minister and now vice-president of The Union for a Popular Movement, the majority party in the French parliament, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

Questions have been raised as to whether Francois Hollande, the new French president, will bring volatility to Sino-French relations.

Hollande has little experience in foreign affairs, including with China. Some of his remarks about China have some observers wondering if there is a bumpy road ahead.

But Raffarin said he was not worried about the future of the relationship, for two reasons.

First, Hollande received China's ambassador to France, Kong Quan, on the day after he was elected. The only other person to be received was the United States ambassador to France.

Second, Hollande picked China hand Paul Jean-Ortiz as his diplomatic counsel. Paul can speak fluent Chinese and has worked in China as a diplomat for years. In 2009, he was appointed Director, Asia and Oceania, of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Hollande's predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, who never concealed his reverence for the US, picked a former ambassador to the US as his diplomatic counsel.

"I'm confident that he is well acquainted with the role of China," Raffarin said. "He has never been to China, but he is not a big traveler, either."

Hollande's former constituency, Corrze, borders Poitou-Charentes, where Raffarin was president of the regional council.

"He is a very experienced politician. He graduated from an elite school and is a clever, cultured person," Raffarin said.

Raffarin said Hollande has a very full agenda, and the number one item is France's coordination with Germany.

Hours after Hollande was sworn in on Tuesday as France's next president, he headed to Germany to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk about growth and austerity measures.

Unlike Sarkozy, who stood firmly with Merkel on austerity, Hollande is less enthusiastic. But they will find a compromise eventually, Raffarin said.

"We need to balance our budget - Hollande knows that. But I think, as we say in China, he can't lose face. So I think Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel will reach a compromise eventually. We have consensus on growth," Raffarin said.

"Admittedly, Mr Hollande has adopted a sharp tone ahead of his meeting with Mrs Merkel later this week, but that is probably because, having presented himself as an emollient personality, he does not want to appear weak in international negotiations," Stephen Lewis, an analyst with Monument Securities, told The Associated Press.

Contact the writer at zhengyangpeng@chinadaily.com.cn