Ｆｏｒｔｉｅｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｄｉｐｌｏｍａｔｉｃ ＴｉｅｓＢｅｔｗｅｅｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ ａｎｄ Ｆｒａｎｃｅ Ｍａｒｋｅｄ

On January 16， 2004 the CPAFFC held a reception to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and French Ambassador to China Jean-Pierre Lafon spoke on the occasion.

In his speech CPAFFC President Chen Haosu said， forty years ago， Chairman Mao Zedong and General Charles de Gaulle with their great foresight decided to establish the diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level between China and France， two big countries one in the East and the other in the West， thus opening a new chapter in the annals of relations between the two countries. France became the first big western power to establish diplomatic relations with China. Despite great differences in culture， political systems and religion， in the past 40 years， with joint efforts made by both Chinese and French leaders of several generations and personages of various circles， Sino-French relations have withstood tests of times and the changing international situation and developed steadily because the two nations share many similarities particularly political consensus. In recent years， the two countries have made remarkable achievements in exchanges and cooperation in various fields， and bilateral relations are becoming more mature and consolidated. In 2003 Sino-French relations witnessed outstanding progress. In April when China was seriously hit by the SARS epidemic， French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin visited China as scheduled， fully showing France’s understanding and support for the Chinese people. On June 1， President Hu Jintao was invited to attend the informal North-South Leaders’ Dialogue Meeting in Evian， France and had a cordial meeting with French President Jacques Chirac. The proposal that China and France respectively hold the Year of French Culture and the Year of Chinese Culture jointly put forward by President Jiang Zemin and President Jacques Chirac started to be implemented. On October 6， the Year of Chinese Culture was unveiled in Paris. This is the largest cultural exchange in scale that China has ever held abroad. Chen Haosu pointed out， these facts fully reflect the importance of Sino-French relations on the international arena and embody the vigour and dynamism of the Sino-French comprehensive strategic partnership. Both China and France pursue the independent foreign policy， and advocate multipolarization of the world and maintenance of the diversity of civilizations. Both countries are permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations， and shoulder important responsibility to safeguard world peace and uphold the progressive cause of humankind. The development of Sino-French friendly relations conforms to the common interests of the two peoples. In the new century China will further push forward its strategic partnership with France so as to benefit the Chinese and French people and make contributions to a more prosperous and stable world.

In his speech， French Ambassador Jean-Pierre Lafon said， the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China was General Charles de Gaulle’s rational decision and the inevitable result of the development of history. Soon after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1964， General Charles de Gaulle pointed out at a press conference that when France acknowledged the People’s Republic of China， it acknowledged a true world. He predicted that other governments would follow France to establish diplomatic relations with the PRC sooner or later， and he was right. Ambassador Lafon said， France-China relations have always been based on political and strategic cooperation in addition to economic and cultural exchanges. He hoped that in the future France and China would further deepen their political relations， strengthen cooperation in the fields of energy， higher education， science and technology， and increase exchanges in personnel particularly between young people of the two countries Tang Jiaxuan， state councilor， Zhang Yesui， vice foreign minister， Zhang Zhijun， vice minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee， Zhang Zhigang， vice minister of commerce， Chang Keren， vice minister of culture， Chu Hongyan， deputy director of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army， and diplomats of the French Embassy， among more than 100 people of various circles in Beijing， attended the reception.