Xi's speech signals new era of China-France cooperation: business leaders

Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the closing ceremony of the Sixth Meeting of the China-France Business Council on Monday has signaled a new era of China-France cooperation, said business leaders from the two countries.

Xi attended the ceremony together with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Marigny Theater in Paris on Monday, and delivered a speech titled "Building on Past Achievements to Jointly Usher in a New Era in China-France Cooperation".

Noting that this year marks the 60th anniversary of China-France diplomatic relations, Xi called for closer business ties between the two countries in the future.

The event brought together representatives from the business communities of both sides, who said they have drawn encouragement from Xi's words.

"[We feel] reassured for the next 60 years and [the two] countries have a lot to share," said Eric Vallat, CEO of the Remy Cointreau Group - a French business group specialized in the production and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

"Great achievements were made [among] the people that already made partnerships between China and France [over] those last 60 years, and today is the beginning of another 60 years," said Alexandre Garnier, CEO of Dekuple, a French marketing and technology firm.

Other business leaders expressed the hope that China and France can further promote bilateral cooperation and cultural exchanges.

"I feel honored to listen to the speeches of the two presidents. Now we have more than five outlets in France and may open another one inside the Louvre Museum. We look forward to promoting more cultural exchanges between China and France through our efforts," said Wang Ning, chairman of the Pop Mart International Group, a Chinese art toy maker.

"Between France and China, we have a lot of strong things to do. [There is] opportunity for China and opportunity for French [people]," said Olivier Chiabodo, the CEO of 'the Explorers', a French documentary content creation company

Xi is currently on a state visit to France which started on Sunday, and also set to visit Serbia and Hungary in the coming days.

Xi's speech signals new era of China-France cooperation: business leaders

A fifth grader in Shaoxing City, east China's Zhejiang Province, has been praised by the school for her acts of saving a classmate from choking via the Heimlich maneuver.

Security camera video recorded on May 8 shows that Li Lexin, a student with the Qingfangcheng No. 2 Primary School, is walking home with her two classmates and finds out that one of the classmates suddenly begins struggling in breathing. He is later found to be chocked by an ice cube.

"I realized he was choking, and I was a little bit in panic. But the Heimlich rescue approach soon popped up in my mind. And I quickly took his backpack off, used the Heimlich maneuver, and after two compressions, he spit out the ice cube stuck in his throat," Li said.

Thanks to regular first-aid trainings carried out at Li's school, Li saved the classmate from the dangerous situation in just six seconds.

"When it comes to student safety education, in addition to the regular '11530' safety education reminder and the monthly emergency drill, we will, on other occasions of safety education, routinely teach the students safety knowledge and provide them with safety skills training," said Xu Xudong, principal of the Qingfangcheng No. 2 Primary School.

The "11530" safety education reminder refers to one-minute safety reminder told by parents to their children before school, one-minute safety education carried out by teachers for their students after classes, five-minute morning talks carried out by teachers with their students on weekends, and 30-minute safety education course for students before each major holiday or on each safety education day.

Primary school student saves choking classmate via Heimlich maneuver