Commentary: Xi, Macron's conversation signals deepening cooperation, guides relations toward greater development

BEIJING, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in a telephone conversation on Wednesday. The consensus they lately reached will steer China-France and China-European Union (EU) relations toward new and greater development.

China and France have joined hands and made pioneering efforts in their cooperation in the past year. Bilateral trade exceeded 80 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, hitting a new high, as China's total imports of agricultural products from France increased by 40 percent year-on-year.

Additionally, the first China-France seminars on artificial intelligence and agri-tech cooperation were held in succession, and the first guidelines for collecting joint laboratory projects were released as scheduled.

The two heads of state are guiding the China-France relationship to advance in the right direction. During their talks, Xi said that in the new year, China and France should keep up with the positive, healthy and upward trajectory, adhere to the principle of mutual respect and equality, strengthen dialogue and exchanges at all levels, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and push for new achievements in bilateral cooperation.

For his part, Macron said that as the current international situation is fraught with tension and turbulence, such a backdrop has strengthened France's hope to deepen its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, adding that France is satisfied with the major achievements the two countries have made over recent years in bilateral cooperation in such fields as technology, agriculture, aviation and nuclear energy.

Macron noted that France is ready to work with China to explore ways to overcome the impact of COVID-19, strengthen personnel exchanges, enhance friendship and mutual trust, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

They have also reached a series of agreements on bilateral cooperation for the next stage, which cover various fields, including agricultural technology, green manufacturing, banking and finance, aviation industry, and third-party market cooperation, among others.

In the view of Lyazid Benhami, the vice president of the Paris Association of French-Chinese Friendship, the leaders' candid talks can help realize "a constructive diplomacy based on a frank and sincere relationship," and such interaction will favor more and more mutual benefit and sustaining dialogue in the future.

Christine Bierre, an expert at the Schiller France Institute, a French think tank, told Xinhua that the talks of the two leaders are frank and look toward the future, noting that the win-win cooperation between the two countries has allowed for progress in important sectors of France.

Their conversation, the first of its kind since France took over the rotating EU presidency last month, will also help push the China-EU relations forward. As Xi has reiterated, China and the EU should uphold a correct understanding of each other, and stick to mutual respect, dialogue and cooperation, and mutual benefit.

Talking with Macron, Xi advocated that the two sides should work together to build the greatest common ground and steer China-EU relations towards new development.

In response, Macron said that his country will make every effort to advance the positive agenda between the EU and China, and work with China to ensure the success of the EU-China leaders' meeting and push forward the development of EU-China relations.

Bertrand Badie, an international relations professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, said that strengthening dialogue will not simply facilitate the cooperation between the two countries, but also promote the bloc's positive agenda with China and broaden consensus between the two sides.

As both the Chinese people and the French people are far-sighted and value independence and autonomy, the establishment of the China-France diplomatic relations stemmed from the original aspiration of independence, mutual understanding, foresight, mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

As long as the two countries stay true to their original aspiration, uphold the consensus and focus on mutually beneficial cooperation, the bilateral relations will naturally grow at a steady pace and inject confidence and vitality into the world's development.