French President's two-pronged mission

Climate change and closer economic ties will dominate talks as Paris meeting looms, experts say

France's President Francois Hollande has announced that he plans to visit China in November, and experts say his main goals will be both to gain support from China before climate change talks in Paris and to strengthen economic collaboration between the two countries.

Zhang Jianyu, China representative of Environmental Defense, an environmental organization in New York, says the French government will undoubtedly be putting great store by the successful conclusion of the United Nations climate conference, to be held over 12 days from Nov 30.

Premier Li Keqiang and French President Francois Hollande greet the media at the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 30. Michel Euler / AP

"One aim of Hollande's visit to China is to gain support for the conference from China," Zhang says. "I gather another purpose is to invite China's leaders to attend."

He says that while China and the United States are the two biggest contributors to climate change, other developing countries also play a big role, such as razil, India and South Africa.

"The success of the Paris conference does not hinge on China alone. Even if it has made a big commitment and has demonstrated huge resolve, it cannot be the only party to make an effort."

Zhang says that a great deal of effort is being poured into organizing the conference, which raises hopes for its success, but the economic problems the world continues to face make things a little more difficult.

"I have two concerns," Zhang says.

First, although every country has made a commitment to meet global emissions targets, even if these are met the world is still far away from climate security.

Second, apart from climate change, the world now faces other serious challenges, the main one being the threat of a global recession.

"My concern is that the bad economic situation may raise doubts about what certain countries can do about climate change in terms of putting their commitments into practice," Zhang says.

Zhang Haiyan, professor of Asia and China business strategy and management at Neoma Business School in France, says the Paris talks will be one of the most important political events of the year.

"Nevertheless, China and France have many other important issues to talk about, too."

The main issue is the economy, he says, pointing to a drop in trade of 8 percent between France and China last year.

"Hollande will want to grab the opportunity to rebuild and strengthen trade between the two countries. To be exact, France is keen to raise its exports to China, such as with nuclear power projects, and to attract more investment from China."

He says he is unsure whether Hollande will visit other countries to gain more support for the Paris conference, but dialogue in the European Union on the matter has been continuing.

Given the poor shape of the global economy, the conference isseen as a business opportunity, especially for companies that produce traditional energy to switch toward producing clean energy.

Dennis Pamlin, founder of the think tank 21st Century Frontiers in Sweden, says that as important as the climate change conference is, any business deals done are more important.

"It is slightly ironic that one of the main contributions from France to China currently is aircraft, namely the Airbus, one of the most polluting technologies on the planet, even as China exports solar power, energy-efficient appliances, LED-lights, etc, to France.

"So while the Paris climate meeting is important, France's current behavior is not really showing the way forward because it is still struggling to develop a low-carbon economy."

The main purpose of Hollande's visit is to gain short-term business benefits for French companies, Pamlin says, and because he is among the least popular political leaders in French history he needs to prove that he can create new jobs and income from exports to China.

Contact the writers through fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 09/18/2015 page14)