Beijing, March 21st—Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, met here today with Bertrand Lortholary, French Ambassador to China. 

Liu said, in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, political mutual trust between China and France has been further deepened and cooperation in various fields has been strong and vigorous. This year marks the beginning of the second 60 years of China-France relations. The two countries will continue to maintain close interactions at all levels. The CPC is willing to strengthen political dialogue with major French political parties and conduct in-depth exchanges of ideas. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union (EU). In the face of the turbulence of the international situation, both sides should adhere to the partner positioning, uphold mutual benefit and win-win results, and jointly address global challenges to contribute to world peace, stability and prosperity. France is an important member state of the EU. It is hoped that France will play an active role within the EU and promote the positive development of China-EU relations. 

Bertrand Lortholary said, the French side values the traditional friendship between France and China and the mutual trust between the two heads of state. It is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with the Chinese side, hold institutional dialogues well, deepen practical cooperation, and promote greater achievements in the second 60 years of China-France relations. Both China and France are ambitious and far-sighted major countries and share many common views on improving global governance and maintaining multilateralism. Both sides should strengthen coordination and cooperation to jointly lead world peace and development. The EU is committed to rebalancing economic and trade relations with China and is willing to properly handle economic and trade differences through dialogue and consultation. It welcomes more Chinese enterprises to invest in Europe. 

The two sides also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.