Paris, December 11th—Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, met here today with Jean-Yves Le Drian, Foreign Minister of France.

Song said that China-France relations have a profound historical accumulation and rich connotation of the times, and are of prominent and global strategic significance. This year is a groundbreaking year for China-France relations. The two heads of state met twice and made strategic plans for the development of bilateral relations and charted the course for the way forward. Under the political leadership of the head of state diplomacy, the two sides have maintained close high-level exchanges and comprehensively deepened cooperation in various fields. The two countries have many consensuses on maintaining multilateralism and reforming the global governance system. Under the new situation, China is willing to work with France to fully implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, promote exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and continue to strengthen strategic communication and coordination to jointly promote the construction of a new type of international relations, and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Le Drian expressed satisfaction with the development momentum of France-China relations this year and positively evaluated the new progress made by the two countries in developing mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. Le Drian said that the current international situation is turbulent and it is particularly important for France-China relations to maintain stable development. The French side is willing to work with China to ensure that France-China relations will move forward in the direction set by the two heads of state, jointly safeguard multilateralism, address challenges such as climate change, WTO reform and international and regional hotspot issues, and work together to promote world peace and development.

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