China and France, as permanent members of the UN Security Council and major independent countries, shoulder important responsibilities for upholding international peace, stability and development, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said on Friday.
Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, made the remarks when holding talks with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to the French president, in Beijing.
Noting the current turbulence in the world, Wang said the two countries should strengthen strategic communication, carry out strategic coordination, jointly address global challenges, and advance the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership to achieve sound and steady development free from various types of interference.
Bonne said France looks forward to working closely with China to jointly seek constructive solutions to global crises.
In the current international context, maintaining dialogue and cooperation between Europe and China is of vital importance, he added. Noting that the European Union needs China, Bonne said that France is willing to play an active role in promoting EU-China dialogue and cooperation.
China, France shoulder important responsibilities for upholding int'l peace, stability, development: top diplomat
China's trade in services maintained a positive trend in the first quarter of 2026, with the total trade achieving a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.
In the first quarter of 2026, China's total service trade volume reached over 1.8 trillion yuan (about 267.9 billion U.S. dollars). Exports of services totaled 704.52 billion yuan, up 11.2 percent, while services imports totaled 1.1 trillion yuan, down 2.6 percent.
China's trade in services during the period mainly exhibited two characteristics, said the ministry.
First, the exports of knowledge-intensive services maintained rapid growth.
Trade in knowledge-intensive services expanded by 1.6 percent year on year to 793.71 billion yuan in the first quarter, accounting for 43.5 percent of total service trade.
Exports of knowledge-intensive services reached 384.26 billion yuan, up 6.1 percent year on year. Personal cultural and entertainment services, as well as financial services, recorded particularly sharp export gains of 25.6 percent and 16.1 percent, respectively. Imports of knowledge-intensive services totaled 409.45 billion yuan, down 2.3 percent year on year.
Second, travel service exports and transport services imports grew rapidly.
In the first quarter, travel service exports jumped 32.3 percent year on year to 105.35 billion yuan in the reporting period, the highest growth among all service export sectors.
Meanwhile, imports of transport services totaled 230.2 billion yuan in the first three months, an increase of 22.8 percent, marking the fastest pace in the top five service import categories by scale.
Inbound tourism has been booming in recent years after China introduced expanded visa-free policies and conveniences such as instant tax refunding for departing visitors.
China's trade in services maintains positive growth in Q1
