China expects France to push for positive EU policies toward Beijing

China expects France to push for positive EU policies toward Beijing

2010-10-05 10:22:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

BRUSSELS (BNO NEWS) – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday said that the Asian nation expects France to push the European Union (EU) for positive policies toward China, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Wen met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on the sidelines of the Asian-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Brussels, Belgium. Wen told the French leader that the relations between France and China are big influence to the Asian giant's links to the EU.

The Chinese official further remarked the importance of having strong relations with France as he expects that the two countries will expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, high-tech and energy. France also expressed its willingness to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

Wen unveiled a five-point proposal for advancing the Asia-Europe relations during the ASEM summit. In the meetings, the United States and the EU accused Beijing of keeping its currency (Yuan) artificially weak to promote exports, undermining jobs and economic competitiveness in Western economies.

However, the EU said that strengthening ties with Asia are vital to efforts to enhance its global standing and match the rise of emerging powers such as India and China. Sarkozy said that his government will work closely with China to jointly advance the France-China and the EU-China relations.

Sarkozy praised China by highlighting the important contributions it made to address the global financial crisis as well as China's predominant role in international affairs.

Finally, the Chinese Premier said that both countries should conduct close coordination within multilateral mechanisms like the United Nations and the Group of 20 in order to create a comprehensive strategic partnership.

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