The Foreign Ministers of France and China met in Paris on Wednesday and gave their consent to “develop an economic relationship that is both stronger and more balanced,” according to the French foreign ministry.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of two major events. One was the visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to China last month and the other were the comments by China’s Paris ambassador about Ukraine that made a rift between the two nations, France and China.
French Foreign Affairs Ministry quoted its minister Catherine Colonna as saying to her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang “that China had an important role to play in convincing Russia to return to full compliance with the U.N. Charter, in particular the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
Gang, in a separate statement, said France and China should focus on new areas of cooperation and develop a supply chain that is much stronger. He further said that China was strongly determined to ensure high-quality development and it was ever ready to collaborate with France and other countries. He also suggested that the two countries should build strong cooperation in global affairs and should be one on addressing global challenges, like the Ukraine crisis. He said, “China is committed to promoting a political solution to the crisis, maintains communication with all parties and will continue to play a constructive role in that regard.”
