Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Francois Hollande have delivered a speech to mark the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between China and France at a ceremony in Paris. The leaders said they hope to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries.

"We should maintain mutual benefits and a win-win strategy, to consolidate groundwork for China-France economic ties. Only when we do something first, the road of economic cooperation will become broader and broader. The high-level political relations can be transformed into real benefits for our two nations. The mid and long-term bilateral deal just released is the directory of our two countries’ cooperation over a certain period in the future. China would like to establish a community of common interests with France, to look for more opportunities to deepen our economic cooperation.” said Xi Jinping, Chinese President.

"China is undergoing robust economic development. Europe has just been recovering from economic recession. It would surely be a win-win situation of sustainable economic development for both China and Europe, if the two sides cooperate more deeply in trade and investment fields in the future. And it is inconceivable that Europe could not benefit from China’s economic growth. Europe should be a preferential partner for China. And France is willing to play a positive role in facilitating closer China-Europe economic ties." said Francois Hollande, French President.

Chinese President Xi hopes to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. Xi said China and France share a special relationship, which was developing prior to China’s relations with other major western countries. Xi also called on the two countries to step up tourism cooperation and sub-national exchanges.

Hollande said that, France and China are developing a comprehensive strategic partnership and relations have reached a new level. He believed that a series of important agreements signed between the two countries during Xi’s visit will encourage and maintain political dialogue, boost people-to-people exchanges and promote coordination on major global and regional issues. France is the second country; Xi has visited on his trip to Europe. He will also travel to Germany and Belgium.