China, France agree to launch fund for joint cooperation with third parties

China and France agreed Tuesday to set up a mutual fund to support their joint cooperation with third parties.

The agreement was reached during visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's meeting here with French President Francois Hollande.

China-France practical cooperation enjoy unique advantages and broad prospects, Li said, adding that the two sides should tap into new cooperation areas and increase their common interests.

He suggested that the two global heavyweights jointly explore third-party markets so as to open new space for bilateral practical cooperation and help foster a sustainable global economic recovery.

The premier called on the two countries to consolidate cooperation in traditional fields like nuclear energy, aviation and space, rolling out all-production-chain cooperation and in-depth industrial cooperation and increasing the share of high-value-added and high-tech cooperation.

In addition, Li urged the two nations to expand their cooperation in such emerging areas as finance, digitalization, sustainable development, tourism and agricultural food, and thus create new sources of growth.

In a joint statement released Tuesday, China and France outlined the major areas for their joint cooperation with third parties, including infrastructure, nuclear energy, aviation, agriculture, health and climate change.

Both countries encourage their enterprises to support interconnection projects between Europe, Africa and Asia, said the document, in which they also pledge joint efforts to sell their jointly-produced civil aircraft to third markets and boost cooperation in railway.

According to the statement, China and France will also work together to cope with new infectious diseases and epidemics and explore cooperation in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and disaster prevention and mitigation in third countries.

In addition, the two countries agreed to strengthen communication and coordination with the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in order to jointly support the development of developing countries.

On China-France ties, Li said the two countries enjoy high-level political trust, fruitful win-win cooperation and ever deeper friendship between their peoples.

Both as permanent members of the UN Security Council, they have jointly made significant contribution to safeguarding global peace and regional stability, he added.

China, he said, stands ready to work with France to maintain close high-level exchanges, cement strategic mutual trust, upgrade practical cooperation and help with each other's development and rejuvenation.

The Chinese premier also expressed Beijing's willingness to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Paris on international affairs to enable the two sides to play their due role regarding world peace, security and development.

On the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference, scheduled for late 2015 in Paris, Li stressed that Beijing appreciates France's efforts as the host and is ready to maintain close contact and coordination with Paris to push for positive results at the global gathering.

For his part, Hollande said that the France-China comprehensive strategic partnership has entered a new era and brought plenty of benefits to both peoples.

China's proposal on joint cooperation with third parties is very positive and conducive to all parties involved, he said, adding that it helps preserve world peace and stability that France and China maintain close coordination and cooperation on major global and regional affairs.

The French side thinks highly of China's just-released document detailing its intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) to climate change mitigation, said the president.

The document, he added, marks not only a key support for the Paris conference, but an important opportunity for the international community to tackle climate change and promote sustainable economic growth.