Google – AFP, Marianne Barriaux (AFP), 26 March 2014
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French
President Francois Hollande (R) shakes hands with Chinese President
Xi Jinping,
at the end of a joint press conference, after a meeting at the Elysee
presidentiel palace on March 26, 2014, in Paris (AFP, Alain Jocard)
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Paris —
Beijing and Paris signed scores of deals Wednesday worth 18 billion euros ($25
billion) on the second day of a lavish state visit by the Chinese president, in
what Francois Hollande said would bring much-needed growth.
Xi Jinping
and his wife Peng Liyuan have been given VIP treatment on a nostalgia-tinted
trip to France marking the 50th year of full diplomatic ties between the two
countries -- a visit due to culminate with a concert at the Versailles palace
on Thursday.
On
Wednesday afternoon, after kicking off his trip in the eastern city of Lyon, Xi
travelled to Paris where he met with Hollande and signed a raft of deals.
"Eighteen
billion euros of contracts -- that is jobs, growth and, most of all,
significant prospects for the coming years," Hollande said during a joint
press declaration with Xi.
By far the
biggest deal was a Chinese order for 70 Airbus planes worth more than $10
billion.
The order
covers the purchase of 43 mid-range A320 planes and 27 long-haul A330s, the
European aviation giant said.
China had
already announced its intention to purchase the planes but subsequently froze
the order due to a row over EU plans to impose a carbon emissions levy on
airlines.
This forced
Airbus to take the 70 planes off its order book, so Wednesday's contract is
considered a new order.
Airbus
Helicopters and China's Avicopter also announced a deal to jointly produce
1,000 civilian helicopters over 20 years.
And the two
countries signed agreements in a number of other areas including the nuclear,
financial and automotive sectors.
France's
'duty'
France lags
behind some European neighbours, especially Germany, in trade and investment
links with fast-growing China.
Last year,
France had a trade deficit with China worth 25.8 billion euros, and on
Wednesday, Hollande told Xi that Paris had a "duty... to re-balance trade
between our two countries".
His
comments came as the number of jobless in France surged by 0.9 percent in
February to a new record of 3.34 million, in what is likely to increase the
deep unpopularity of Hollande's Socialist government.
Xi and Peng
began the French leg of their trip on Tuesday in the eastern city of Lyon, a
former silk centre that forged enduring links with China from the 16th century.
The power
couple were treated to a lavish dinner at city hall, and sampled regional
delicacies such as wine, saucisson and Beaufort cheese.
On
Wednesday, the couple visited bioMerieux, a French diagnostics firm run by a
prominent Lyon business dynasty that has old trade links with China.
"In
the near future, the Chinese health sector will greatly develop and this will
be in the interest of the Chinese people and the whole world," Xi said.
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Chinese
President Xi Jinping (C) signs the golden book on March 26, 2014
during a visit
to the Fondation Charles de Gaulle in Paris (Pool/AFP, Eric Feferberg)
|
He then
visited the city's Franco-Chinese Institute before leaving for Paris to meet
the French president.
Xi is
scheduled to make a major speech in Paris Thursday highlighting historical
bonds such as the experiences of Communist Party luminaries Zhou Enlai and Deng
Xiaoping, who both studied in France.
Xi's wife
Peng, China's first prominent First Lady and a famous singer, is also a
Francophile.
And while
she no longer has a French counterpart after Hollande split from his partner
Valerie Trierweiler, Peng has her own activities planned that will see her
named special UNESCO envoy for the promotion of women's education.
The
question of human rights in China was ever-present on the vi sit amid an
ongoing, government-backed crackdown on dissent, with Tibetan exiles planning a
big rally in Paris on Thursday.
Since 2009
about 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire in China in protests against the
authorities, denouncing what they say is an erosion of their religious freedoms
and culture and discrimination by the country's Han majority.
The issue
of human rights was not mentioned in either of the leaders' declarations on
Wednesday, where journalists were not allowed to ask questions.
The Chinese
leader is on his first-ever European tour and after visiting The Netherlands
and France will head to Germany and Belgium.
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