Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye **Xinhua News Agency.
A few days ago, Lu Shaye, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chinese ambassador to France, was interviewed by China ** on topics such as bilateral relations, high-level exchanges, practical cooperation between the two countries and China-EU relations.
On Sino-French bilateral relations:
"It's not easy to go against the trend".
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, and the two sides held a series of celebrations. Lu Shaye said, "This also shows that Sino-French relations have developed very well in the past 60 years."
Speaking of high-level exchanges, Lu Shaye said that the leaders of the two countries have a tradition of mutual visits, and "high-level exchanges of visits play an irreplaceable role in leading and promoting the development of bilateral relations."
China and France attach great importance to this year's high-level exchange of visits, and the relevant departments of the two countries are actively planning. ”
** and General de Gaulle opened Sino-French diplomatic relations that year, and the subsequent development of Sino-French relations was also developed under the guidance and promotion of successive leaders of the two countries.
Lu Shaye pointed out that in the past ten years, under the joint strategic guidance and promotion of President Hollande and Macron, "the relations between the two countries have reached a new height".
Especially against the backdrop of the complicated international situation and the rising impulse of the West to contain China, it is not easy for Sino-French relations to buck the trend. At present, looking around the world, the Sino-French relationship should be said to be the most stable and positive in the entire East-West relationship," he said.
He believes that it is inevitable that there will be some minor differences in specific areas in bilateral relations, and this is also a reflection of the current general trend in Sino-Western relations. "Our assessment of China-France relations is positive, and we hope that bilateral relations will continue to develop healthily and steadily in the next 60 years. ”
He said that the reason why Sino-French relations have been able to develop to such a high level today is that the two sides can adhere to the "Sino-French spirit" advocated by President Zheng, that is, independence, mutual understanding, long-term vision, mutual benefit and win-win results.
These four sentences should also be the basic principles guiding China's relations with Western countries. By adhering to these basic principles, there will be no major twists and turns in the relations between the two sides, and the overall stable and healthy development will be possible. In the future, we should continue to adhere to the 'Sino-French spirit' in handling Sino-French relations. ”
On Sino-French people-to-people exchanges
It is hoped that the French side will provide more visa facilitation
In November last year, China announced the implementation of a 15-day visa-free policy for short-term French visitors to China, and the French side announced that Chinese holders of master's diplomas with study experience in France will be granted five-year visas.
Talking about visa facilitation arrangements, Lu Shaye said: "If the French side wants to further promote people-to-people exchanges and attract more Chinese tourists to France, it should provide more convenience in terms of visas. ”
He pointed out that it is now difficult for Chinese tourists to obtain French visas, it takes a long time, and flights between the two sides have not yet returned to pre-epidemic levels, so air tickets are relatively expensive.
The French side is also aware of this problem, and from our contacts with the relevant French authorities, they are also trying to find a way to solve it. We hope that the situation will improve as soon as possible. This year is another Olympic year in France, and there are definitely many Chinese tourists who want to come to France to see and experience the Olympics with their own eyes. If France** can provide more convenience, it is believed that more Chinese tourists will come to France. ”
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France, as well as the Year of Culture and Tourism between China and France, as well as the "Year of the Olympics" for France. Lu Shaye said: "The two countries can take advantage of this important opportunity to hold more activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary, review our original aspirations, look forward to the future, and make more achievements." ”
He said that there were many celebrations, some of which were on the official list, and a large number of which were spontaneously organized by local and non-governmental organizations, "with very positive implications, reflecting the enthusiasm of the people on both sides."
The foundation of Sino-French friendship lies in the people, the strength lies in the people, and the future lies in the people. We should focus more on our work and extensively do the work of the French localities, all sectors of society, and the broad masses of the people, so that the Sino-French friendship will be deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and will not be affected or influenced by temporary fluctuations in the international situation. This work is both important and arduous, and requires perseverance, perseverance, and bit by bit accumulation. ”
Sometimes, the impact of some international developments, especially Sino-US relations, will affect China-EU relations and China-France relations, and we will see some negative phenomena and problems appear. But at this time, we should not be blinded by temporary and negative things, but look forward, see through the fog, and maintain a positive attitude. ”
During this year's Spring Festival, Ambassador Lu Shaye also recorded a small ** to promote the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was well received by netizens. "It's also a tradition of our embassy that we do it every year," he laughs.
On Sino-French economic and trade cooperation:
We hope to work together to improve the investment environment
In the whole of last year, the amount of China and France** decreased slightly due to the international environment, but it still reached 78.9 billion US dollars.
Lu Shaye said that if the bilateral amount can exceed 100 billion US dollars in the next three to five years, it will be a good thing for both sides to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results. "A few days ago, I participated in the 60th International Agricultural Exhibition in France, and I deeply felt that China and France have great potential. ”
In the recent bilateral talks between China and France, the Chinese side said that it "hopes that the French side will provide a fairer, more just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises".
Lu Shaye said that the EU and France still have some restrictive and discriminatory measures against Chinese companies in the field of investment, such as Huawei 5G. "China attaches great importance to the legitimate rights and interests of our enterprises, and will put it forward to the French side in formal talks to promote France's gradual improvement. ”
Ambassador Lu pointed out that China is constantly improving the Chinese market access conditions for foreign enterprises, the negative list for foreign investment is getting shorter and shorter, the negative list in the manufacturing sector has been reduced to zero, and the investment environment is getting better and better, and in some aspects it is even better than that of European countries; China's tariffs are equivalent to those of most developed countries. "China also hopes that France will work with us in the same direction to jointly improve the investment environment and further promote bilateral investment cooperation. ”
When it comes to practical cooperation between the two countries, he said that there are many bright spots, including new opportunities in traditional areas of cooperation such as aerospace and nuclear energy, as well as some new areas, such as agricultural and food cooperation in recent years.
Recently, I visited the French International Agricultural Exhibition and came into contact with meat, grain, poultry and other enterprises, as well as many professional associations, all of which are very active in exploring the Chinese market, which shows that the cooperation between China and France in this field is very promising. China's market is large, and Chinese consumers are increasingly looking to buy high-quality agricultural products and food products as their incomes increase, which is a mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation. ”
On Sino-French multilateral cooperation:
We hope to jointly promote the resolution of hot issues
In the multilateral arena, Lu Shaye pointed out that the two countries have many common interests. "Both China and France stand for upholding multilateralism and jointly addressing globalization and global challenges. ”
He said that at the end of December last year, the first foreign affairs work conference was successfully held, and two important propositions were put forward, that is, advocating an equal and orderly world multipolarization and inclusive economic globalization. "This is China's solution to a series of major challenges in the world today, which is very much in line with the current world situation, and these two propositions are also in line with some of France's foreign policies. ”
He said: The Chinese side hopes to strengthen cooperation with France in the international multilateral field and jointly promote the resolution of some international issues, including some hotspot issues. "For example, in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, China and France have a lot in common on this issue, and there are many similarities in their positions and views, and the two sides can do more work in this regard, such as putting forward some common initiatives to promote the resolution of this issue. ”
Speaking about the Ukraine crisis, Lu Shaye said: "We have always advocated promoting peace talks, and we also oppose some countries adding fuel to the flames of this crisis. China believes that the conflicts and wars that have arisen in the world today are not conducive to the progress and prosperity of human society. The end point of any war is the negotiating table, and it is better to talk late than to talk early, and it is better to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible than to talk about it after both sides lose in the end. ”
On the issue of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China's positions and views are not entirely consistent with those of Europe and France. It doesn't matter. We can seek common ground while reserving differences and put differences aside. If we all share the goal of peace, then we should work in that direction. ”
On China-EU relations:
"De-risking" is the packaging of decoupling and breaking the chain
Lu Shaye said that China has always regarded the EU as a comprehensive strategic partner, and the EU's triple positioning of China as a "partner, competitor, and institutional rival" is actually contradictory.
The Chinese culture is: 'Since I treat you as a friend or a partner, then I will not do anything unfavorable to you, I will not treat you as an opponent and stab you in the back.' Despite the cultural differences between China and the West, China wants to continue to cooperate with the EU," he said.
Lu Shaye pointed out that promoting economic globalization is a general trend, and the European side should not refrain from economic globalization just because the United States wants to "decouple and break the chain" with China.
He said that there is a bad tendency for Europe to follow the United States more and more, openly and covertly and unconsciously "de-risking", which is actually an unspoken decoupling and breaking the chain. If you think that China is a "risk" and want to "de-risk", then you may "avoid it" from China and not cooperate, isn't this decoupling and chain breaking? Therefore, "de-risking" is just a package for decoupling and breaking the chain.
He pointed out that in recent years, the EU has taken many protectionist measures against China in the fields of investment, and has followed the United States on many issues.
Recently, the European side has also launched the first restriction on China's solar panels, on the grounds that the United States has banned the export of Chinese solar panels to the United States, and China's related products have flocked to Europe.
On this issue, they blame China, but not the United States. As a matter of fact, what the United States is doing is violating WTO rules, and the European side is doing so in order to take sides and ignore right and wrong. From this point of view, this kind of dispute is difficult to resolve. ”
He pointed out that some data show that China's domestic brand electric vehicles account for only 7% of the EU market; The situation is similar in France, where Chinese brands account for only 9% of the French EV market. "The so-called countervailing investigation by the EU does not target American and European brands such as Tesla and Renault, but only targets Chinese-made and Chinese-branded electric vehicles, which is discriminatory. ”
China has always advocated resolving these issues through dialogue and consultation, and we hope that the two sides will properly resolve the relevant issues as soon as possible through dialogue," he said.
Lu Shaye said that China's solar panels and wind power equipment are conducive to promoting the world's energy transition and responding to climate change, and China provides low-cost new energy products to countries to help accelerate the energy transition. "According to the targets set out in COP28, by 2035, the global installed capacity of renewable energy will triple from 2020; Without Chinese products, I believe that Europe would not have been able to achieve this goal. Chinese products are inexpensive, which actually benefits European consumers. ”
Recently, due to China's anti-dumping investigation of EU grape spirits, some French liquor industry associations filed a complaint with Lu Shaye, and he also did the work of explanation.
This is a reasonable and lawful action taken in accordance with Chinese law and WTO rules. We will act in accordance with the law. This incident is not aimed at France, nor is it related to other ** friction disputes between China and Europe and China and France, and is an independent incident. ”
Reporter: Zhang Chengbi **China**).