Government News
Closer global ties 'vital' amid many woes 2022-09-13
The CEIBS Insights Paris Forum is held on Sept 8, 2022 in Shanghai.
Cooperation highlighted by top envoy, former French PM in easing conflicts
Former prime minister of France Jean-Pierre Raffarin said countries need to give priority to cooperation instead of conflict while facing a turbulent time in the new geopolitical climate and post-COVID era.
He made the remarks at the CEIBS Insights Paris Forum held on Thursday in Paris and Shanghai. Co-organized by China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and CCI Paris Ilede-France, the event brought together decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and scholars from China and France to discuss bilateral cooperation in the areas of advanced technologies, sustainable development and energy transformation.
"This forum is held under a very complex global geopolitical background," Raffarin said.
He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has a plethora of consequences including reducing the power of Europe. Combined with the lingering COVID-19 pandemic, the world is being threatened with growing crises.
"While global geopolitics and the pandemic continue to disrupt the world, we should strive to go beyond conflict and seek common ground," he said.
"Multilateralism and multipolarity have been around for more than 60 years and today we need to give more content to these concepts.
"Dialogue and economic cooperation are vital in today's polarized world to have balanced global governance," he said. "The more we cooperate, the more likely conflict will diminish."
Chinese Ambassador to France Lu Shaye echoed his point, saying that major economies should work together to overcome difficulties in the post-COVID era.
"We should embrace economic integration, not isolation, advocate openness and not be closed off, pursue mutual benefit instead of exclusiveness, seek stability and be against volatility," the ambassador said.
In a separate interview with the media, CEIBS President Wang Hong stressed any moves toward economic decoupling from China are unrealistic.
"Despite the global setbacks and uncertainty, economic cooperation between China and Europe has shown resilience and energy. Deeper economic cooperation is an irresistible trend," Wang said.
According to the figure given by the Chinese embassy in France, in the first seven months, China's trade volume with Europe reached $479.4 billion, an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase, while China's trade volume with France showed a 1.3 percent year-on-year increase to $47.8 billion. In 2020, China overtook the US to become the European Union's biggest trading partner.
Lu said the upcoming 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will draw the blueprint for China's development over the next five years and longer. That will create more room for collaboration between China and France as well as China and Europe.
Raffarin, 74, who maintained close ties with China following his tenure as French prime minister from 2002 to 2005, encourages deeper cooperation between China and France, in particular in the energy field, as Europe and France are facing an energy crisis triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"Chinese and French people have developed a long-standing friendship over the years, and I hope that we can defend our friendship and reach the end of the tunnel together," Raffarin said.
Source: China Daily
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