Last Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that 36 Chinese and French companies signed 18 agreements to expand cooperation in areas including industrialization, green development, new energy and innovation, during a meeting between Chinese and French businessmen last Thursday.

The trade volume between China and France has increased from 60 billion US dollars to 80 billion US dollars over the past five years, said Yu Yuantang, an official with the Ministry of Commerce, in opening remarks to the meeting.

In 2022, China-European cooperation overcame many negative effects and made steady progress, Yu said, with bilateral trade hitting a new record high of 847.3 billion US dollars, while new investment from European companies in China increased by 70 percent to 12.1 billion dollars. American.

Representatives from companies such as Bank of China, BNP Paribas, China National Nuclear Power Corporation and Electricity de France discussed jointly addressing global challenges and enhancing cooperation, and made suggestions on deepening economic and trade relations between China and France.

The companies pledged to seize China's high-quality development opportunities, ensure the stability of industrial chains and supply chains, and expand cooperation in nuclear energy, finance, consumption and other areas.