From December 13 to 17, 2024, at the invitation of the Secours Populaire Francais (SPF), President Yang Wanming led a delegation on a visit to the French cities of Marseille, Montpellier, Arles, and Strasbourg. During the visit, President Yang met with French Senator Jérémy Bacchi, Deputy Director Denis Barbet of the Department of Subnational and Nongovernmental Cooperation, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Counsellor Philippe Lacoste of the Prefect of the Grand Est region of France, President of the Cites Unis France and Mayor of MontpellierMicha?l Delafosse, Deputy Mayor of Arles Claire de Caussans, Secretary General Henriette Steinberg of the SPF, Head of the Federation of Franco-Chinese Associations and Vice President of the New Franco-Chinese Institute Alain Labat, Secretary General of the Federation of Franco-Chinese Associations Fran?oise Tirribillot, and Director General of the Agency for the Development of International Relations and Cooperation through Culture and Economy (ADRICCE) Alain Jouffrey. They held in-depth discussions and reached a positive consensus on enhancing exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in culture fields, civil society, local governments, and youth. The idea of jointly hosting the 7th Franco-Chinese Meeting on Decentralized Cooperation next year was also discussed. Pan Yumin, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Strasbourg, and Shi Yuli, Acting Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Marseille, attended the event.
(President Yang Wanming meets with French Senator Jérémy Bacchi.)
(President Yang Wanming meets with Deputy Director Denis Barbet of the Department of Subnational and Nongovernmental Cooperation, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.)
During the meeting, Yang Wanming emphasized that both China and France are major independent countries with significant global influence. He noted that China-France relations have transcended bilateral cooperation and taken on strategic significance. Over the 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained a strong momentum of growth in their bilateral ties. On November 19, President Xi Jinping met with French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening high-level exchanges between China and France. They also discussed deepening exchanges and cooperation in areas such as culture, education, youth, and local government affairs, in order to promote greater people-to-people exchanges between the two nations. The CPAFFC is committed to working with the French side to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, building more bridges of people-to-people exchanges, practical cooperation, cultural exchanges, and youth friendship. This will contribute to advancing the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership and further strengthening popular support for the friendship between the two countries.
(President Yang Wanming meets with Diplomatic Counsellor Philippe Lacoste of the Prefect of the Grand Est region of France, President of the Cites Unis France and Mayor of MontpellierMicha?l Delafosse and Deputy Mayor of Arles Claire de Caussans.)
The French side expressed high regard for the positive contributions made by the CPAFFC in deepening the friendship between France and China, particularly in facilitating people-to-people and subnational exchanges. They expressed hope that the Franco-Chinese Meeting on Decentralized Cooperation (Rencontres franco-chinoises de la coopération décentralisée) will serve as a platform to bring together forces at the subnational and grassroots level to collaborate on key areas such as climate change, sustainable development, artificial intelligence, the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, agricultural technology, and tourism. Additionally, they emphasized their willingness to expand youth and cultural exchange activities to further enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and contribute to the sustained development of France-China relations.
The Chinese and French sides agreed in principle to hold the 7th Franco-Chinese Meeting on Decentralized Cooperation in China in 2025.
(President Yang Wanming meets with Secretary General Henriette Steinberg of the SPF and the French youth representatives who visited China at the invitation of the CPAFFC.)
