Photo via People's Daily

President Xi Jinping’s state visit to France will further strengthen the friendship between the two countries and more frequent cultural and people-to-people exchanges are expected to strengthen the tie, experts noted.

In 2014, President Xi visited the former site of the Franco-Chinese Institute of Lyon, the first Chinese university outside of the country and a strong symbol of Sino-French relations. To honor the friendship, the New Franco-Chinese Institute was built on the original site in 2016.

According to Alan Labat, vice chairman of the New Institut Franco-Chinois de Lyon, Xi’s visit has reaffirmed their confidence to reestablish the university, which acts as a bridge between the two countries.

Labat said that Xi’s visit also adds more vitality to the university, as it is now a famous tourist spot in Lyon, and its history has become better known among both citizens and travelers.

The Chinese-French friendship carried by the university will be passed down from generation to generation, he added.

Alan Mérieux, chairman of the Mérieux Bioscience Research Center, also remembers the excitement five years ago when Chinese President Xi visited. The Mérieux family photos exhibited at the center record generations of the history of China-France friendship.

The current chairman visited China for the first time in 1978, when he began to show great interest in the Asian country. Mérieux said he is as curious as all French are and he feels the achievement of China’s reform and opening-up is unique in the world.

As a recipient of the China Reform Friendship Medal, Mérieux has long promoted healthy cooperation between the two countries, specifically in the fields of tuberculosis prevention, infection control, and the prevention and control of new infectious diseases.

Looking into the future, Mérieux said cooperation with China is expected to be further deepened and the results can be promoted to more countries to address global public health challenges and contribute to the advancement of human health and well-being.