French president visits Shanghai
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-12 01:13

France hopes to participate fully in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, said the visiting French President Jacques Chirac here Monday evening.

Chirac made the remarks in a meeting with Chen Liangyu, secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai.

Chirac said great changes had taken place in Shanghai since his visit seven years ago, noting that Shanghai has indubitable capacity to hold the World Expo, which will bring better development.

Chirac said many French enterprises have set up sound cooperative ties with their counterparts in Shanghai, and are strengthening cooperation in such fields as transport, sewage water treatment, oil and chemical industry.

Chen Liangyu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, briefed guests on Shanghai's economic and social development in recent years and the preparation work of the World Expo, hoping that the French side would grasp the opportunity of the Expo to lift the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries into a new high.

Chirac arrived here Monday morning from Beijing to continue his state visit to China.

 During his stay in Shanghai, Chirac made an address at the prestigious Tongji University, noting that taking humanism as the major topic of their dialogue, the cooperative relations between France and China will serve the world in the future.

Before the speech, Chirac attended a foundation-laying ceremony for the China-France Center for Science, Technology and Innovation in the university.

 Chirac also attended the unveil of the Pasteur Institute of Shanghai, which was established for promoting cooperation between France and China in the field of preventing and treating new and infectious disease.

After the visit to the Shanghai Museum, Chirac met French sponsors for the French Culture Year in China earlier this evening.

Shanghai is the third Chinese city he has visited following Chengdu and Beijing during his China tour. Chirac is scheduled to leave here for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Tuesday.

Close

Today's Top News     Top China News
Economy to grow 9.4% this year and 8.9% next         Talks go on after Chinese hostage deadline         WHO report highlights traffic safety in China         Experts: Chen's call for talks is vague         Experts name civet as primary SARS source         Trade unions launch Beijing Consensus	Chirac: France-China cooperation to serve world       Hu, Chirac reach broad consensus       Talks go on after Chinese hostage deadline       Experts name civet as primary SARS source       Militants set deadline for Chinese hostage       Police rewards porn site informers