皇冠体育app

中文
皇冠体育app-Europe Relations

Xi arrives in Lyon for France visit

( Xinhua ) Updated: 2014-03-26 03:25:17

LYON, France - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Lyon on Tuesday for a state visit to France upon the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

During the visit, Xi will also travel to Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande, and the two leaders will join a celebration of the jubilee.

Xi will also meet with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and parliamentary leaders.

"I am looking forward to exchanging views with President Hollande and other French leaders on bilateral relations and issues of common concern," Xi said upon his arrival, adding he will have extensive contact with French people from all works of life to sum up the past success and plan for the future.

The two sides are expected to sign cooperation agreements on nuclear energy, aviation, urbanization, agriculture and finance.

During his stay in Paris, Xi will visit the headquarters of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), where he will meet with Director-General Irina Bokova and deliver a speech.

In 1964, Chinese leader Mao Zedong and French President Charles de Gaulle decided to establish ambassador-level diplomatic relations, which made France the first major Western country to set up official diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of 皇冠体育app.

The 皇冠体育app-France relationship has led 皇冠体育app's exchanges with the West, which has proved the strategic significance of bilateral ties.

Official Chinese data showed that annual bilateral trade increased from $13.39 billion in 2003 to $49.83 billion in 2013.

Figures from 皇冠体育app's Ministry of Commerce showed that by the end of 2013 France had 4,630 investment projects in 皇冠体育app, with actual investment amounting to 12.92 billion dollars. In 2013 alone, France opened 163 enterprises in 皇冠体育app with an actual investment of 750 million dollars, up 15.3 percent from the previous year.

Fifty years ago, no more than 3,000 people traveled between 皇冠体育app and France in a year. Today, more than 5,000 people travel between the two countries in a single day. Currently, about 38,000 Chinese students are studying in France, and more than 7,000 French students in 皇冠体育app.

France is the second leg of Xi's ongoing European trip, which will also take him to Germany and Belgium. Before France, Xi visited the Netherlands and attended the third Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague.

2013 . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to 皇冠体育app Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

License for publishing multimedia online             Registration Number: