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| Europe |
| Group Hug for France and China |
| 2004-07-06 |
| France and China on Monday marked the mid-point of a two-year programme of "After all, there is no word for nuance in English, y’see..." "They share the conviction that ’Scuse me...did just he say this about China? The Chicoms are all about dialogue, mutual respect, and pluralism? I think some monkeys just flew out of my butt. His view was echoed by the Chinese ambassador to Paris, Zhao Jinjun, who stressed that, in many I’m a little misty, here...this is a beautiful moment. A silvery white dove just flew by... France and China have gone to extraordinary lengths to underline the extent of their cooperation in the respective programmes highlighting each other’s culture. French President Jacques Chirac, a known Sinophile, is to head to China in October on a state visit marking the start of the Year of France there, in a trip mirroring the pomp which accompanied Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visited France in January as part of the Year of China celebrations. The unprecedented sight of the Eiffel Tower being lit red and a Chinese New Year parade on the Champs-Elysees during Hu’s stay, as well as the grand finale - a giant fireworks display at Versailles last weekend and a Shanghai festival in Paris - earned high praise from Chinese officials."All these gestures have made us fully feel the best intentions of France and reinforced the friendly ties between the two countries," China’s deputy culture minister, Meng Xiaosi, said alongside Barnier. She outlined a reciprocal series of events that would begin in China showcasing France, starting with a music and light show in Beijing’s Forbidden City featuring French musician Jean-Michel Jarre, who also attended Monday’s conference, followed by a French picnic on the Great Wall of China. In a sign of the enthusiasm French business has for China’s booming market, luxury group LVMH and state-run electricity company Electricite de France have paid for much of the cost of the extravaganza. The cultural two-step the two countries are in the middle of has already borne fruit in other areas. Last month, France and China signed billions of euros’ worth of trade contracts, headlined by a EUR V2 billion (USD 1.7-billion) deal to supply 20 Airbus aircaft to a Chinese airline inked by visiting Chinese Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan. "Europe and France need China," French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres said, explaining that "with globalisation, we have entered into a truly global civilisation where cultural dialogue... is needed more than ever to accompany the development of economic and social exchanges". Although he and Barnier and the Chinese ambassador hinted that they expect the Beijing-Paris relationship to also form a geo-political bloc able to challenge US dominance, they declined to directly answer a question about what their "strategic partnership" could mean for Washington. "China has a dialogue with the United States, as do we," Barnier said. He stressed that the Franco-Chinese relationship, particularly on the UN Security Council, aimed to tackle "the instability of the world" caused by terrorism, disease and inequitable development. France would remain vigilant on China’s oft-criticised human rights record, he added, saying that a joint commitment to "humanity" was needed if the two countries were to promote a "more peaceful, more balanced" world. I think I saw a little tongue action there... |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #4 The touching commitment to "humanity", as well as to a "more peaceful, balanced world" presumably does not include, say, doing anything to inhibit genocide in Sudan -- nor, even, refraining from impeding action to stop it. The moral imbecility, arrogance, and (as virginian) put it, "staggering idiocy" of the French really never stops plumbing new depths. |
| Posted by: Verlaine 2004-07-06 6:22:18 PM |
| #3 The fact that the French see China as a better friend than the US is evidence of truly staggering idiocy. |
| Posted by: virginian 2004-07-06 6:53:28 AM |
| #2 Nose looked a bit crustier than normal. |
| Posted by: Capt America 2004-07-06 2:42:30 AM |
| #1 It will be interesting wich one of these two screws the other first. Right up the twat Mr Lee. Up your ass Jacque! |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-06 1:14:25 AM |