China, France sign fresh deals during Hu visit

Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the Arc of Triomphe yesterday, amid his three-day state visit to France, which marks a dramatic turnaround from the tense ties of two years ago

France and China signed a fresh batch of trade deals yesterday during a state visit by President Hu Jintao that has already seen Paris win export contracts worth USD 20 billion.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has brushed aside worries about China’s human rights record to throw on a warm and lavish welcome for Hu, wooing investment and Chinese support for his agenda as the incoming president of the G20.
France and China signed USD 20 billion in industrial contracts on Thursday at the start of Hu’s three-day visit, with police trying to keep rights protestors away from the Chinese leader.
Nevertheless around 20 activists approached Hu as he arrived at the Arc de Triomphe to re-light the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, calling for jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo to be freed.
Police intervened rapidly to disperse the protestors who opened up white umbrellas with “Free Liu Xiaobo” printed on them and shouted the same slogan.
A new round of 15 contracts was signed Friday in arenas ranging from power to wine, including a EUR 1.1 billion deal between telecommunications group Alcatel-Lucent and China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom.
They were signed at business association Medef on Paris’ chic Left Bank in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, at a ceremony attended by Chinese minister of Commerce Chen Deming and French Trade minister Christine Lagarde.
In remarks calculated to reassure China about its export-driven economy, Lagarde branded protectionism “the most hideous monster” and called for “a sustained economic relationship founded on friendship and demand.”
But she added that France would like to sell more to Chinese consumers.
“We’re not necessarily very proud when we see that our trade deficit with China is the largest at 22 billion euros,” she said.
Alongside the trade contracts, Hu has thrown China’s weight behind Sarkozy’s goal of using France’s upcoming presidency of the G20 group of the world’s largest economies to reform the global financial system.
After next week’s summit in South Korea, France will take on the year-long rotating G20 presidency, during which Sarkozy wants to push major international reforms, and China has given cautious backing to the French agenda.
“I know I can count on China’s backing to make progress on three big projects that are essential to keep the world running properly,” he said.
In his own toast Hu said: “China supports France in its efforts to ensure the success of the G20 summit next year.”
No joint news conference has been scheduled, an exceptional departure from state visit procedures that has been criticised by campaigners who want Hu to be pressed on the issue of human rights.
China’s President had a meeting with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon in Paris before heading to the Riviera city of Nice for a working dinner with Sarkozy. Hu heads to Portugal today.