France, China sign Airbus and satellite deals during vice premier's visit

[Flagg]

FRANCE, CHINA SIGN AIRBUS AND SATELLITE DEALS DURING VICE PREMIER'S VISIT

Received Friday, 11 June 2004 11:41:00 GMT

PARIS, June 11 (AFP) - France and China signed billions of dollars worth of trade contracts Friday during a visit to Paris by Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, cementing ties that have grown noticeably closer in recent months.
Airbus, the European aircraft maker based in the French city of Toulouse, announced it had inked a two-billion-dollar (1.7-billion-euro) deal to supply 20 medium- and long-haul A330-300 planes to the China Eastern airline.
And the aerospace subsidiary of the French telecommunications group Alcatel said it had sold a television satellite to the company China Sat to be operational in time for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Industry sources said that contract was worth around 120 million dollars.
The two deals were closed as Zeng met French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. The Chinese official, one of four vice premiers, was to meet President Jacques Chirac later Friday.
"If each time we meet we sign as many agreements with so many jobs behind these agreements, I believe our cooperation with China will be very fruitful. It already is," Raffarin said after the signings.
Zeng's visit, and the high protocol greeting he was getting, underlined the relationship that is blossoming between France and China.
Chirac, a known sinophile, has pulled out all the stops to woo what has become the world's biggest emerging market, home to 1.2 billion people and boasting a red-hot economy that has expanded by nearly 10 percent this year.
When Chinese President Hu Jintao made a four-day trip to France in January, he was treated to a priviliged reception that included lighting the Eiffel Tower red for the occasion, closing off central Paris streets to traffic, and an address to parliament.
Since then, the two countries have forged links in the areas of politics, culture and -- most importantly -- commerce.
Paris has moved away from supporting Taiwan, the island state Beijing claims, and has restricted protests by overseas members of Falun Gong, the spiritual group declared illegal and subversive in China. It has also taken to avoiding criticism of China's poor human rights record.


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