Fourth High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation Held in France

To substantiate the Medium and Long-Term Plan for China-France Relations and build a strong people-to-people and cultural exchange mechanism， the Fourth High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation was held in Strasburg from November 6 to 7， 2014.

The Forum， jointly sponsored by the CPAFFC， the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development， the French National Committee of Local Government Cooperation (Le Comite National de Cooperation Decentralisee-CNCD)， and Alsace Region， promoted the theme of “strengthening cooperation in innovation and promoting urban and rural development”， building on the work of previous events on local government cooperation — namely， the Wuhan Forum， Bordeaux Forum and Nanjing Forum.

Ji Bingxuan， Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress， led the visiting delegation and gave a key-note speech listened to by over 800 Chinese and French representatives， including Zhai Jun， Chinese Ambassador to France， and Zhang Guobin， Chinese Consul-General in Strasbourg.

Ji elaborated on China’s endeavor to deepen reform in an all-round way to realize the two “centenary goals*”， and comprehensively advance law-based governance of China determined by the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

Cooperation between local governments was an important component of the China-France relationship and also an engine to promote sustainable development of bilateral friendly relations， he said. The closer the two countries cooperated， the greater the benefits， leading to win-win results. Cooperation was based on friendship. Only when the two countries respected each other and had friendly relations， could they carry out closer， broader and deeper cooperation.

Cooperation was rooted in credibility， mutual respect and mutual trust. The essence of cooperation was practicability. As long as both countries continue to take a realistic and pragmatic attitude， gave full consideration to and respect for the other side’s national conditions， public feelings， economic development situation and cultural traditions， viewed and dealt with problems emerging in development in a pragmatic way， they would surely achieve greater results.

Phillippe Richert， President of the Regional Council of Alsace， noted that， 50 years ago， General Charles de Gaulle and Chairman Mao Zedong with their strategic wisdom and extraordinary courage had opened a new era of France-China relations. This comprehensive strategic partnership not only served the fundamental interests of the two countries， but also benefited the world.

Local governments of the two countries should take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the Fourth France-China Forum as a new starting point， give full play to the unique advantages of local governments and follow the principle of seeking common ground while shelving differences and mutual respect， so as to create a new-type of partnership oriented towards the 21st century.

The French Ambassador to China， Madame Sylvie Bermann， said that President Xi Jinping’s successful visit to France in March 2014 had injected new vitality into bilateral relations. These were maturing and mutual trust was being steadily enhanced. In September 2014， the two countries had jointly initiated high-level people-to-people and cultural exchange mechanism.

Cooperation between local governments could play a key role in the mechanism and be an important supplement to the overall relationship. She hoped that local governments on both sides would strengthen cooperation in urban and rural sustainable development and in the areas of culture， economy and trade， particularly between small and medium-sized enterprises. The French Embassy in China would give active support， she pledged.

Chinese Ambassador Zhai Jun said cooperation between local governments was one of the priorities of China-France practical cooperation， and could help turn the national government’s political will of promoting cooperation into rapid concrete actions. To ensure a sustained China-France relationship of closeness， there must be people-to-people exchanges and cooperation at various levels. Zhai expressed his belief that cooperation between the two countries would further expand and have a brighter prospect in the future.

Roland Ries， Mayor of Strasbourg and President of the French Cities Union; Li Jianping， CPAFFC Vice President; Xia Geng， Deputy Governor of Shandong Province; and Jacques Valade， Roving Ambassador for Asia of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development， also spoke at the opening ceremony while Philippe Richert and Zhong Mian， Deputy Governor of Sichuan Province， spoke at the closing ceremony， which was attended by Christian Poncelet， former President of the French Senate.

The special topic workshop drew 43 representatives from the two sides divided into three panels on “urban and rural regional governance”， “local economic development” and “scientific research， higher education and innovation serve the local development”. At the special topic workshop， six speakers appointed by the three panels briefed all the representatives on the discussions.

As an innovation of this forum， the “entrepreneurs’ forum” and “one-to-one” trade talks parallel to the special topic workshop were added， building a platform of interaction between entrepreneurs of the two sides.

Through this forum， the local governments of the two countries shared useful experiences and ideas of innovation in urban and rural sustainable development， and discussed about bilateral pragmatic cooperation in the fields of economy， culture， science， technology， education， health care and tourism， thus enhancing mutual understanding and friendship and laying a foundation for cooperation.

In order to recognize the substantial achievements made by the local governments of the two countries in cooperation in various fields， the China-France Local Government Cooperation Award， which was specially set up at the forum， was conferred on selected Chinese and French provinces/regions and cities participating in the Convening Plan of China-France Local Government Joint Projects.

Li Jianping and Jacques Valade presented cups to representatives of local governments of the 10 awarded pairs of China-France friendship cities (provinces and regions). Philippe Richert presented cups to two Chinese enterprises deemed to have made remarkable achievements in the economic cooperation with Alsace Region.

Li Jianping and Jacques Valade， on behalf of the two sides， signed the Conclusion of the Fourth High Level China-France Forum on Local Government Cooperation. This stressed the importance of cooperation between the localities of the two countries， summarized the achievements of such cooperation in the past decade since the first China-France Forum， and the consensus reached on the three special topics at the forum， and put forward future targets and tasks of cooperation. The two sides unanimously agreed that the Fifth High Level China-France Forum would be held in Chengdu， China in 2016.

At the forum the CPAFFC signed a cooperation agreement respectively with the French Cities Union and the Association of French International Cultural Centers (ACCR).

*The two “centenary goals” are to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and doubling GDP and per capita income over the 2010 level by the end of this decade when the CPC celebrates its 100th anniversary， and build China into a strong， democratic， culturally advanced and harmonious modern socialist country by mid-century when the People’s Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary.