On the afternoon of June 30 local time, Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France at the Hotel de Matignon in Paris.

Li Keqiang expressed that China-France relations have gone through 50 years with strategic mutual trust being constantly cemented, practical cooperation being upgraded and transformed in an accelerated manner, facilitating measures for personnel exchanges being taken one after another and close communication being kept on international and regional hotspot issues. Both sides should take the opportunity and make persistent efforts to enhance high-level exchanges and strategic mutual trust and push for constant, comprehensive, stable and rapid development of bilateral relations.

Li Keqiang stressed that China will work with France to pursue innovation with keen determination and forge ahead as well as expand industrial integration and fully play the role of market in the spirit of openness and win-win cooperation, so as to push bilateral all-round practical cooperation to a higher level. To this end, first, we should deepen production capacity cooperation in such fields as aviation, aerospace, high-speed rail and steel as well as cooperation in such energy fields as nuclear power, oil and gas and hydropower and enhance the added value in cooperation, thus push bilateral cooperation up to the high end of the industrial chain and strengthen the whole industrial chain cooperation while actively developing the third-party market together; second, we should expand cooperation in such sectors as agriculture, food, medical treatment and health care, digital economy, ocean and polar region, as well as energy conserving and environmental protection; third, we should provide better conditions for enhancing bilateral trade and investment facilitation and continue pushing bilateral trade toward dynamic balance. China supports its enterprises to invest in France and also welcomes French enterprises to develop the Chinese market with advanced technologies; fourth, we should stick to a market-oriented direction to deepen financial cooperation and innovate financing modes such as public and private capital cooperation thus offering financial support for developing the third-party market while deepening exchanges and cooperation in banking supervision; fifth, we should intensify people-to-people and cultural exchanges by continuously facilitating personnel exchanges, deepening culture industry cooperation and forging a long-term practical mechanism for people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

Li Keqiang pointed out that France is a core major country of the EU and China’s cooperative partner of special importance in the EU. The sound development of China-France relations will surely play a demonstrating role in the development of China-EU relations. It is hoped that France will continue its active efforts to boost China-EU relations.

Manuel Valls said that Premier Li Keqiang’s visit once again shows that France-China relations keep developing at a high level. Bilateral practical cooperation enjoys marked results and a broad prospect. France hopes to, together with China, enhance economic dialogue, deepen cooperation in such traditional fields as nuclear power, aviation, aerospace, agriculture, and food processing, expedite cooperation in such new fields as the third-party cooperation and eco-city, expand mutual investment, further push personnel exchanges, and enhance exchanges and cooperation in such people-to-people and cultural areas as education and tourism, thus push bilateral practical cooperation to a higher level. France appreciates China’s efforts in addressing climate change and thanks China for its coordination and cooperation with France in well preparing the Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Both sides also exchanged views on international and regional topics of common interest.

Following the talks, the two governments together issued a joint statement on cooperation in developing the third-party market and a joint statement on bilateral nuclear power cooperation. The Chinese Premier and the French Prime Minister also witnessed the signing of the cooperation documents in such sectors as nuclear power, production capacity, finance and sustainable development.

On that morning, Manuel Valls held a grand welcome ceremony for Li Keqiang at the National Residence of the Invalids of France. The national flags of both China and France were raised at its square. The military band played the national anthems of both countries. Li Keqiang, accompanied by Manuel Valls, inspected the Garde Républicaine.