Macron's state visit to promote cooperation

French President Emmanuel Macron's upcoming visit to China is expected to bear fruit for Chinese-French cooperation in such areas as nuclear power, analysts said.

Macron will make a state visit to China from Monday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang announced on Tuesday.

It will be Macron's first state visit to China. Xi and Macron, who took office in May, have spoken twice by phone and met in Hamburg, Germany, during the G20 Summit last year.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday that Macron's visit is expected to promote political mutual trust and enhance communication on practical cooperation.

Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the visit will indicate a strong willingness to strengthen Chinese-French cooperation on the economy, trade, diplomacy and security.

Given that trade protectionism and the European Union's denial of China's market economy status remain the two major factors disturbing EU-China cooperation, Macron's visit will be a chance to boost the bilateral link and eliminate barriers, he said.

Mentioning that Chinese and French companies have agreed to construct nuclear power projects in Britain, Ruan said that China and France have their own strengths in that field and they could make joint efforts to explore new markets.

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international studies at Renmin University of China, said that France and other European countries possess cutting-edge nuclear technology, while China can make good use of the technology with the help of the large market provided by the Belt and Road Initiative.

The market offered by China is a necessity for France to improve the influence of its nuclear technology, he said.

France shares common views with China on global climate change and security, and there are areas of huge potential for cooperation, such as in space navigation, medical cooperation, the digital economy and nuclear power, he added.

In December, State Councilor Yang Jiechi held a new round of the China-France strategic dialogue in Beijing with Philippe Etienne, Macron's top foreign policy adviser.

China stands ready to make joint efforts with France to prepare for high-level exchanges to inject fresh impetus into the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership, Yang said at the dialogue.

On Dec 1, China and France signed more than 70 documents covering economic and financial cooperation during the fifth China-France High-Level Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing.

Zang Yarui contributed to this story.