Xi's visit important for bilateral ties, int'l situation: experts

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to France and the dialog between the two countries are important for both bilateral relations and the current international situation, experts said.

At the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, Xi started his state visit to the European country on Sunday. It coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries and is of great significance for building on the past achievements and opening up new prospects for bilateral relations.

Experts believe that against the backdrop of the current international situation, encompassing global development and world peace, the dialog between the two countries holds paramount importance.

"This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and China, which is a very important moment in view of the current international situation, whether it is world development or world peace, the dialog between France and China is of great importance," said Thierry Dana, adviser to the former French president.

"In today's world, we see the Ukraine crisis and other crises, Palestine-Israel [conflict], et cetera. In this kind of world, we need countries like France, like China, to show more independence. So, this is part of the multipolar world, and we have to have more democracy in the international arena. I think this is important both for Sino-French relationship and also for Sino-European relationship," said Zhang Weiwei, director of the China Institute of Fudan University.

Meanwhile, the cultural exchange between China and France has also flourished over the years. Deanna Gao Chunfang, an artist residing in France, said the power of culture and education in driving bilateral relations.

"They (French people) are very fond of Chinese art, especially traditional art. I came to France, bringing Chinese art here. They fell in love with Chinese painting after visiting my art exhibitions. I also give lectures on Chinese paintings and they all want to learn from me. So, I started teaching them. Some students have been painting with me for decades. I am very moved by some French people, for example, an eldest student who is 87 years old and comes here from another province by train to attend my classes," said Gao.

Xi's visit important for bilateral ties, int'l situation: experts

Over 70 percent of the projects funded by China's additional one-trillion-yuan treasury bonds issued late last year have started construction, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Saturday.

So far, 15,000 projects funded by the issued treasury bonds have been implemented, with 11,000, or 72 percent of them having started construction, said Hu He, chief of the General Office of NDRC's Investment Division, adding that efforts will be made to ensure that all the remaining projects will be in construction before late June.

"Among them (the funded projects), those for post-disaster reconstruction have seen rapid progress. Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have activated 95 percent of these projects, and a batch of post-disaster reconstruction projects for improving the people's wellbeing such as schools, hospitals, water supply facilities and roads, have basically been completed, and are ready for timely use," said Hu.

Late last year, China issued an additional one-trillion-yuan treasury bonds, mainly covering projects of eight key areas including those for post-disaster construction, enhancing north China and other regions' capacity for post-disaster reconstruction, disaster prevention and mitigation, and helping the affected regions restore their basic production and living conditions and economic development to the pre-disaster level.

"The additional treasury bonds issued in 2023 strengthened support for enhancing the capacity for post-disaster reconstruction, disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief, raising the support standards for the projects all at once, thus greatly easing the local government's financial pressure. The measure is both aimed at helping the affected population to restore as fast as possible the normal working and living conditions and enhancing the capacity for disaster prevention and relief in the long run, so as to better protect people's lives and property in the future," said Hu.

China's treasury bonds-assisted civil projects well progressing: official