French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe paid an official visit to China from June 22 to 25 at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Both French President Emmanuel Macron and the prime minister had visited China within the last six months, which shows the high importance France attaches to developing bilateral ties and the high level of the ties.

Recently, Sino-French economic and trade cooperation has been blooming, which has had an indelible mark on bilateral relations. The China International Import Expo (CIIE), which is an inspirational “Chinese Plan”, has received a positive response from all walks of life in France and become a new highlight of Sino-French economic and trade cooperation.

Since President Xi Jinping announced that the CIIE would be held, French political, commercial and academic circles have all showed a strong interest in the upcoming grand event. As of now, there are more than 40 French enterprises that have signed participation contracts, including Airbus, L’ORÉAL, Sanofi and other Fortune 500 companies, as well as more than 4,000 square meters of committed display area.

Many French enterprises have a positive view of the CIIE. It had been quite difficult to book exhibition booths for the first CIIE, so they started to apply in advance for exhibition booths at the second CIIE in 2019. Two of the first four applicants for the second event are from France; they are Lesaffre, a family group with a history of more than 160 years, and the OSMC (Organisation Sino-Mediterraneenne du Commerce), which focuses on local small and medium-sized enterprises and featured commodities.

Bertrand Mulot, a representative from the OSMC said earlier that they had decided to book an advance application for the booths next year to provide more small and medium-sized enterprises in the Mediterranean region with access to the Chinese market.

Jean-Philippe Poulin, Greater China president of Lesaffre thinks that the CIIE is a great platform for Lesaffre to exchange with others and learn from innovative experiences.