President Jiang Zemin told a group of French entrepreneurs on January 24 that China and France should further promote and develop friendly relations and bilateral ties in the economic sector.

Jiang said during a meeting with Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, chairman of the French Enterprises Movement (FEM) -- formerly known as the French Federation of Employers -- and numerous other French businessmen that there is still enormous potential for further cooperation.

Jiang expressed his appreciation for FEM's role in increasing mutual understanding between China and France and cooperation in the economic and trade sectors.

According to sources with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, FEM has over one million members employing13 million workers. "Cooperation between the two countries has been developing well," said Jiang. "But there are still great potential for further expansion of cooperation in view of the two countries' technological and economic strength."

Seilliere said that as reform continues in China, French companies want to further develop economic relations.

The French entrepreneurs arrived on Sunday. Apart from Beijing, they will also visit Shanghai and Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China's Fujian Province.