Chinese President Xi Jinping has provided to “break new ground” to provide a fillip to the China-France ties, days after French President Emmanuel Macron’s high-profile go to to India throughout which the 2 nations unveiled an bold defence roadmap in addition to intensifying cooperation within the strategic Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific area.

Macron’s go to to India additionally coincided with the sixtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France.

In his message on the event, Xi stated “As today’s world is once again at a critical crossroads, China and France should jointly open up a path of peace, security, prosperity and progress for human development.” Xi stated China attaches nice significance to the event of bilateral ties and he stands able to work with Macron to take the sixtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations as an “opportunity to uphold fundamental principles, break new ground, build on past achievements, open up a new future, and make China-France comprehensive strategic partnership more solid and dynamic,” the official media reported.

China has provided to step up French imports to the nation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated.

“We will continue to unleash consumer and investment market demand, continue to expand the import of high-quality products and services from France”, he stated and hoped that France too will present Chinese corporations with a good, simply and predictable enterprise surroundings.

China prioritises ties with France as Macron is pushing Europe to turn into a 3rd bloc, a balancing drive between the US and China.

Hailing China-France ties, Chinese official media has referred to as for stepping up cooperation in high-tech areas.

“Scientific and technological cooperation between France and China has been a cornerstone of their relationship. From aerospace and the nuclear industry to renewable energy, the two countries have made significant strides in joint research and development”, state-run China Daily stated in its editorial.

President Macron was the sixth chief from France to be the chief visitor at India’s seventy fifth Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on January 26.

Beijing stored a cautious watch on Macron’s go to to India as Paris is rising as a key defence accomplice to New Delhi amid efforts by the US and European Union to court docket India as a counterweight to counter China.

After Macron’s talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 2 nations unveiled an bold defence industrial roadmap to co-develop important navy {hardware} in addition to firming up cooperation within the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific area, a key space of concern for China.

“Defence and security partnership has been the cornerstone of India-France partnership in the Indo-Pacific region, which includes a comprehensive range of bilateral, multinational, regional and institutional initiatives, especially in the Indian Ocean Region”, the joint assertion issued after Macron’s go to to India stated.

“They also agreed to intensify their cooperation in the Southwest Indian Ocean, building on the joint surveillance missions carried out from the French island territory of La Reunion in 2020 and 2022”, it stated.

The intensification of India-France cooperation within the Indian Ocean issues China because it tries to make forays in India’s yard.

The US, India and a number of other different world powers have been discussing the necessity to guarantee a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific within the backdrop of China’s rising navy manoeuvring within the resource-rich area.