Li visit 'to spark new era in ties'
Premier Li Peng's visit to France will take ties to new heights and boost Sino-European Union co-operation, Xinhua (the New China News Agency) said yesterday.
But its commentaries made no mention of the looming protests that will await Mr Li when he arrives in France on Wednesday nor of a motion to be tabled by the EU to the UN Human Rights Commissioner on China's human rights record.
Instead, the agency claimed the tour would inject 'fresh vitality' to Sino-French relations and expand China-EU co-operation.
Chinese dissidents in exile and rights activists have vowed to follow Mr Li everywhere in France.
It was earlier reported that Mr Li had altered his schedule to avoid encountering demonstrators.
The EU motion will put China's human rights record under the spotlight again although Beijing is believed to have secured enough votes to block its passage.
Xinhua said Mr Li's visit to France would be reminiscent of General Charles de Gaulle's era.
It said Beijing and Paris had enjoyed excellent relations when chairman Mao Zedong and de Gaulle were at the helm.
It said Mr Li's visit would have a far-reaching impact across the whole European Union. France and the EU would benefit if they could maintain good relations with China, it said.
'France enjoyed only a humble 1.9 per cent share of the Chinese market, compared with Japan's 16 per cent, the United States' eight per cent and Germany's 5.5 per cent,' it said.
The visit by Mr Li and his 100-member entourage would be an excellent opportunity for French businesses to catch up with their competitors in the mainland market, Xinhua said.
'The Chinese leaders have always believed that the economies of China and France are strongly complementary and have encouraged Chinese enterprises, large and small alike, to co-operate with their French counterparts.' Xinhua said the EU and China still had much to do to develop their relationship.
In an interview with Xinhua, the French ambassador to Beijing, Francois Marcel Plaisant, called Mr Li's visit 'extremely important' for Sino-French relations.
It was part of President Jacques Chirac's overall plan to engage China and Asia during his seven-year term, Mr Plaisant said.
A highlight of Mr Li's visit is expected to be his tour of Airbus Industrie in Toulouse when he will witness the signing of the contract to buy 30 Airbus-A320s and three large A-340 cargo aircraft.
