The Bilateral relations between China and France are growing well, like a tree full of life, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Thursday in Beijing when meeting visiting French President Jacques Chirac.

Wen acknowledged that France was the first Western country to forge diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level with China, and the first in the world to establish an all-round strategic partnership, hold strategic dialogue and host reciprocal culture years with China.

"These are proofs of the French leader's foresight and sagacity", Wen noted.

Wen said China and France have complementary economies with a huge potential for cooperation, saying that China will promote cooperation in the fields of nuclear energy, aerospace and aviation, railways, financial service and environmental protection.

China also encourages reciprocal investment and better intellectual property protection in order to create a better environment for French business to invest in China, Wen said.

Echoing Wen's views, Chirac said France and China share common interests and a solid foundation for bilateral cooperation.

France has always valued its ties with China, Chirac noted.

He said the French side hopes to expand trade cooperation with China and is willing to create good opportunities in fields such as nuclear power, aviation and railways.

Chirac agreed with China's proposals to further cooperation among the business communities of the two countries.

Wen spoke positively about China-EU relations, suggesting that the two sides should handle bilateral relations and address concerns from a broader perspective.

China and the European Union (EU) should utilize the trade cooperation mechanism to the full and properly resolve trade disputes according to WTO rules and through equal dialogue and consultation, so as to sustain the long-term development of China-EU and China-France ties, the Chinese Premier stressed.

Chirac, who arrived here on Wednesday afternoon on a four-day state visit, also met with Wu Bangguo, Chinese top legislator, on Thursday afternoon.

Wu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said the China-France all-round strategic partnership required support and participation from the two parliaments.

The NPC is willing to improve the parliamentary exchange mechanism to cement friendly cooperation in various fields and at various levels, Wu said.

Chirac said the French side attaches importance to bilateral parliamentary exchanges and hopes to expand cooperation to the cultural and humanitarian fields in order to increase mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Source: Xinhua