International Forum: Enlightenment of History ����Tomorrow, January 27, will mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-French diplomatic relations. At the turn of the century, reviewing the history of the Chinese-French relations in the past 35 years and seeking enlightenment from history are not only helpful to raising this relationship to a new level in the 21st century, but also good to boost the sound and stable development of relations between big powers in the coming century. ����The historic enlightenment is that only by starting from the truth and considering and handling issues reasonably, can the inter-nation relations remain healthy and stable. ����This enlightenment has got both positive and negative confirmations in the 35-year-old China-France relations. For example, In the Cold War period, China and France played a positive role in the international stage to maintain world peace and stability by handling the two nations' relations on the basis of fact and reason. ����However, in the late 1980s, the smooth development of the Sino-French relationship experienced a "frozen period" of several years due to the fact that the French government at that time imposed sanctions on China and sold weapons to Taiwan. What the French side did at that time served to how that some Frenchmen ignored the fact that the world and culture are diversified and that there is only one China in the World. ����There is no reason to speak of in the absence of facts, conversely, in the absence of reason, facts will inevitably be ignored, this will unavoidably damage the normal international relationship. Certainly, all the problems have been solved and the normal Sino-French relationship has resumed and developed to a comprehensive partnership. ����Historical experience should be cherished. In fact, similar events are not rare in the relations between China and other nations. ����At present, not only should China and France go on doing so under this guideline, but other big powers should do so as well, which are adjusting their 21st century-oriented relations. ����Since the end of the Cold War, the multi-polarization trends continue to develop and the common interests of the big powers are increasing instead of decreasing in the face of common challenges. Establishing a new international political and economic order is the historical demand facing all mankind. ����Only when the big powers proceed from these basic facts and handle their relationship reasonably, can they make their due contributions to the international community in the new century. WorldNews 1999-01-26 Page6 Full Story in Chinese