Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is paying an official visit to France from December 4 to 7 on invitation. Following the visit exchange between heads of the two countries last year prime ministers of the two countries also exchanged visits this year.

The strategic cooperation between China and France has extended to various areas, with their close coordination and cooperation on major international issues, ever increasingly deepening the political mutual trust. Meanwhile, bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic, cultural, sci-tech and education areas has made great progresses. As pointed out by leaders of the two countries the China-France relations have entered their best times and will have a positive impact on world peace and stability.

However, the development of the China-France trade and economic relations has long lagged behind that of political relations and even does not match that of cultural relations, and this does not accord with the economic strengths and status of the two countries as world trade powers. According to statistics, French investment in China is ranked the third among the EU countries, far behind the UK and Germany. Although the bilateral trade has grown by 60 percent and 30 percent respectively for 2003 and 2004, France' share in the Chinese market has dropped from the 2.7 percent five years ago to 1.4 percent and ranks only the 4th in the EU in trade and 15th worldwide.

It should be recognized that although China and France very much complement each other in economic structure France does not have advantages in areas of labor-intensive products and production technologies which were needed at the beginning of China's economic reform. Moreover, there was still room within the EU for France to expand foreign trade and it took France's attention from China. Now, twenty years later, the Chinese economy is growing at high speed and requires a great deal of cooperation in the energy, transportation, communications and financial areas, which are exactly what France is good at.

In addition, China and France established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004, which promises broader prospects for the two countries to improve and deepen the trade and economic cooperation. Just as Premier Wen said to the reporter of the newspaper Lefigaro before departure China's economic rise benefits not only the Chinese people but the French, European and global peoples as well.

Against this backdrop Premier Wen makes a visit to France to boost the bilateral trade and economic relations to a higher level and make what is a good strategic partnership still better. The agenda of Premier's visit is rich and full of new meanings, setting up a series of records in the bilateral trade and economic relations.

On Nov. 4 Airbus and China Aerospace Industry Corporation signed an MOU on strengthening industrial cooperation, studying the feasibility of setting up an A320 assembling line in China and letting the Chinese aviation industry participate in the A350 project. It has become the first EU company to sign key high-tech transfer agreement with China. At the signing ceremony Airbus President said this is a new win-win model.

Zhang Xiaoqiang, Vice Minister of Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, also said the cooperation between aviation industries of the two countries is a strategic choice. On Nov. 5 China set a record in signing a contract to buy 150 Airbus A320 planes worth $9.7 billion. It was the biggest single order Airbus has secured over the 20 years since it entered the Chinese market.

Later on, France sealed cooperation agreements with China on projects such as developing new 16-seat civil helicopter, making new generation communications satellites and investing in the construction of Shanxi-Hebei high-speed railway. Moreover, China and France issued the first joint communique on launching cooperation in the youth area, identifying the development direction of the two countries.

Whether it is the masterstroke of signing the trade and economic contract or the plan for exchange between Chinese and French youth, they all testify to the complete success of Premier Wen's visit to France and display the new look of the win-win China-France cooperation under the framework of the comprehensive strategic partnership.

The article, written by Jiang Suichun - associate research fellow at the Europe Institute under Chinese Academy of Contemporary International Relations and carried on the front page of People's Daily Overseas Edition, is translated by People's Daily Online