Chinese president discuss trade deals during visit in France

Chinese president discuss trade deals during visit in France

2010-11-05 00:29:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

PARIS (BNO NEWS) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao on Thursday arrived to Paris where he will discuss a series of trade deals worth billions of Euros between the two world powers.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed this Chinese counterpart that arrived to Paris in a three-day state visit. The two presidents are expected to discuss trade tensions and future deals as well as Sarkozy's ambitious agenda for his G20 presidency.

The visit of President Hu came at a time when Europe has joined the United States in calling for China to appreciate its yuan currency more quickly which provoked tensions between the European Union and China.

"In the face of complicated and profound changes in the international situation, Hu and Sarkozy would discuss how to work together to highlight the strategic nature and the overall importance of the partnership between the two countries," said Kong Quan, Chinese ambassador to France. "The two sides will also explore and decide ways of bilateral cooperation which lays stress on the spirit of times and creativity."

This afternoon, Hu and Sarkozy will begin talks and is expected that many deals will be reach shortly. The contracts expected include a purchase by China of Airbus aircraft, nuclear energy deals for Areva (French company), a deal with energy giant Total and a contract between French insurance firm Axa and the Bank of China.

China also expects that the meetings will ease tensions ahead of the G20 leaders summit that will be held in South Korea next week. The summit will focus on global economic imbalances and Sarkozy plans to set common ground for his ambitious agenda of reforming the global monetary system.

"France's presidency must have the patience to listen to everyone, especially on the reform of the global financial system," said China's deputy Foreign Minister <deleted> Ying.

France is China's important trading partner in the European Union. Their two-way trade was registered at 38 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

President Hu will travel to Nice, the fifth largest city in France on Friday, to continue his tour of the European country. The Chinese leader will also pay a state visit to Portugal following his current visit.

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