French President officially visits China

(Baonghean.vn) – On November 2, French President Francois Hollande began a two-day official visit to China before boarding a plane on the evening of November 3 to South Korea and returning to Paris on the morning of November 4.

According to the plan, President Hollande, along with ministers, members of parliament and French business leaders, will visit Chongqing and Beijing, China for two days of official visits. On the first day of his visit to Chongqing, Mr. Hollande visited a wastewater treatment plant jointly built by France and China.

French President Hollande, his delegation and the Mayor of Chongqing province at the wastewater treatment plant jointly built by France and China on November 2. Photo: AFP

Mr. Hollande will next travel to Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping. And after the meeting between the two leaders, it is expected that the two sides will issue a joint statement on the issue of combating climate change – a topic that has been discussed by advisers at the Elysee Palace and Chinese negotiators for many days.

The French President's official visit to China this time is to prepare for the upcoming COP 21 climate change conference in Paris.

Many experts believe that Mr. Hollande is too ambitious when he expects China - the country with the largest emissions in the world (accounting for 25% of global emissions and surpassing the US since 2006) to make a promise to cut emissions.

However, China promised to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Paris in July 2015, so this could be one of the first positive signals for the upcoming COP 21 conference in Paris.

Chu Thanh

(according to Le Monde)