MAYOR Yang Xiong met visiting French Prime Minister  Manuel Valls and his delegation last Saturday. He said the Sino-French relationship is growing well and Shanghai has extensive cooperation with France in many areas.

The mayor said Shanghai is the sister city of Rhône-Alpes Administrative Region and Marseilles. They enjoyed fruitful cooperation in many fields. The France Pavilion and Rhône-Alpes Pavilion at World Expo Shanghai 2010 have reopened to let the Chinese people understand the French culture. He said the prime minister’s visit will boost bilateral exchanges in trade, science and technology, and culture.

Yang said the Shanghai Free Trade Zone has operated for more than one year and achieved successful results in reform and opening, which made it more convenient for foreign companies to invest and do trade in the city.